Free throws key Larned girls

By BUDDY TABLER

PRATT -- The Nickerson girls were unable to overcome 31 turnovers as they fell to the Larned 45-32 in the Pratt Class 4A-Div. 2 basketball substate. Larned (12-9) meets Haven Saturday for a berth in the Class 4A-Div. 2 state tournament.

The Indians were led in scoring by senior Kelsey Parr’s 18. Haley Skelton played a strong floor game with 11 points and numerous key steals while Ivory Muldrow chipped in with nine points. The Indians outscored the Panthers 17-4 from the free throw line.

Nickerson turned the ball over on its first six possessions. The teams battled to an 8-8 standoff after one quarter.

Larned’s poor shooting

The turnovers continued in the second quarter for the Panthers but poor shooting by Larned and a decided rebounding advantage for Nickerson enabled the Panthers to carve out a 19-17 halftime advantage.

“Our defense was very good early on but we just couldn’t convert that into any points,” said Larned coach Larned coach Ashley Crosby. “We didn’t do a good job of rebounding. Fortunately, we got things going in the second half.”

Larned outscored Nickerson 28-11 in the second half, fueled by three 3-pointers from Kelsey Parr. A ball-hawking Indian defense caused 17 Nickerson second-half turnovers. The Indians converted several of those turnovers into points. Katie Fischer provided a big rebounding spike in the second half.

Nickerson (6-15) was led by Brylee Engelland’s 10 points. Shelby Jackson added seven and Sophie Mader six.

NHS 8 11 4 9 – 32

LHS 8 9 14 14 – 45

NICKERSON—Brylee Engelland 3 3-4 10; Mader 2 1-1 5; Tara Davis 2 0-2 6; Jackson 3 0-0 7; Schweizer 1 0-1 2; Ortiz 1 0-0 2; Totals 12 4-8 32.

LARNED—Kelsey Parr 4 7-9 18; Haley Skelton 3 4-7 11; Ivory Muldrow 2 5-8 9; Katie Fischer 1 0-0 2; Brittany Butler 1 0-0 2; Baylea Perez 0 1-2 1; Bailey Ritchie 1 0-2 2; Totals 12 17-28 45.