ne to go for Great Bend’s girls against state-ranked powers. No. 5 5A Liberal rolled past Great Bend 57-38 in Friday’s Western Athletic Conference basketball showdown.
The Panthers (3-11, 1-3 WAC) lost to No. 2 6A Derby 69-43 Tuesday and face another uphill challenge against No. 2 4A McPherson next week.
Carley Brack kept the Panthers within 21-16 with an 18-point night. But Liberal (13-1, 3-1 WAC) took complete control with a 16-0 scoring run for a 37-16 lead. Liberal’s trio of Machia Mullens (16), Audrey Gilmore (13) and Katie Hornya (12) were too physical and talented for the cold-shooting Panthers.
Great Bend shot 20 percent the first half facing a 27-16 deficit. But things got worse in the third period. The Panthers endured long stretches of low scoring or no scoring.
“We went through spurts when we could not get shots to fall,” said Great Bend coach Carrie Minton. “I did not mind if we made them play defense. But we took some early, contested shots.”
The 170-mile road trip combined with a lack of team intensity due to recent illness.
“We did a good job hanging in there,” she said. “But when your body is run down, it’s tough. When they put three ‘bigs,’ on the floor, it’s a tough matchup for us.”
Hard-charging Aleah Urban gave the Panthers a spark with six fourth-quarter points. She drew an offensive foul and forced two Liberal turnovers. The Panthers scored 16 points in the fourth period.
McPherson’s girls (12-1) plays back-to-back games starting Monday against Newton. Oklahoma signee Taylor Robertson is one of the state’s best players.

GB 6 10 6 16 – 38
Liberal 6 21 18 12 – 57
GREAT BEND (3-11)—Brack 3 11-13 18, Urban 3 0-0 6, Clark 1 3-4 5, Schroeder 1 0-0 3, Mauler 1 0-0 2, Dunekack 1 0-0 2, S. Unruh 1 0-0 2, Totals 11-45 14-16 38.
LIBERAL (13-1)— Mullens 16, Gilmore 13, Hornya 12, Warden 9, Lucero 5, Whitney Hay 2.

WESTERN ATHLETIC GIRLS

Hays High...... 4-0.... 10-5

Liberal........... 3-1.... 13-1

Dodge City.... 2-2.... 8-6

Great Bend.... 1-3.... 3-11

Garden City... 0-4.... 4-11

FRIDAY

Liberal 48, Great Bend 37

Hays High 50, Dodge City 47 (OT)

Guymon, Okla. 47, Garden City 45