BY KEVIN PRICE
kprice@gbtribune.com

HOISINGTON — The Minneola High School girls’ basketball team was able to hold host Hoisington to only 19 points and won the championship game at the Hoisington Winter Jam on Saturday night.
The Lady Lions remained ahead 14-11 in the first half, and exploded on a 16-0 run extending through the third quarter and into the fourth, giving them a 31-13 lead late in the final period that the Lady Cardinals could not overcome.
The Lady Lions looked as though they entered the game with a specific game plan: force Mallory Flagor onto the bench with too many fouls and stack the paint on defense, forcing Hoisington guards to hit open shots to beat them.
Mallory Flagor, who was limited to only two points in the game, got the game started for the Lady Cardinals, scoring her only two points after a rebound under the basket, but Minneapolis was ready for Flagor.
Defensively, the Lady Lions crowded the paint with sometimes as many as four defenders, preventing Hoisington from moving the ball inside.
Offensively, Minneapolis attacked the paint, drawing three fouls in the first quarter, two from Flagor, forcing her to sit the bench for much of the first half.
The Lady Lions only shot 2-for-10 from the free-throw line in the first half, and in the second quarter, the Lady Cardinals led by Blakelee Cooper’s 3-pointer, her only points in the game, were able to knot the game at 11 with 2:26 remaining in the first half.
The Lady Lions responded by giving Flagor her third foul of the game, making one of the free throws and finally forcing a turnover to score another quick two points before the period was up.
Hoisington scored six in the final quarter, led by Belle Brickley, who accounted for four in the final eight minutes, including the only two Lady Cardinals free throws.