BY MACK McCLURE
mmcclure@gbtribune.com
 
EMPORIA — After getting shellacked 71-44 by Topeka High School in a first-round game of the Glacier’s Edge basketball tournament last season, Great Bend returned Thursday evening against the same opponent and same venue seeking a payback and some redemption.
“We wanted to gain respect,” Great Bend head coach Jason Tatkenhorst said. “We didn’t think we were probably coming into this game with much respect because they really took it to us last year, and here was our chance to gain respect.
“And, we definitely did that. I thought we outplayed them in a lot of areas. The one thing that we were missing tonight was probably confidence. We had some girls kind of shoot the ball a little hesitant, unlike in practice where we have been really confident.”
No, the Lady Panthers couldn’t quite get over the hump, falling 55-49, although they had Trojans on the ropes for much of the game but couldn’t deliver the knockout punch.
The knockout punch was served by Topeka High, which converted 4 of 6 free throws in the final 29.4 seconds to turn back the Lady Panthers (4-7), who will play Derby today at 4 p.m. in the consolation game of the tournament.
Featuring a pesky defense that had the Trojans on their heels throughout, forcing numerous turnovers, Great Bend had a golden opportunity late in the game when Topeka High’s Daria Sprew, who scored a game-high 21 points, fouled out with nearly three minutes left.
The Lady Panthers’ Jordan Haney made 1 of 2 free throws to carve Topeka High’s lead to 49-45 and then they got even closer at 49-47 on Cassidy Tutak’s basket with 1:50 remaining.
Krystal Corhn answered with a basket from the right baseline at the 1:31 mark, but Great Bend’s Lexie Brack made two free throws to make it a 51-49 ballgame.
After Corhn misfired on the other end, Haney and Topeka High’s Brittney Redmond forced a jump ball with 43.2 seconds left after a GBHS miss on a 3-pointer. The possession arrow was pointed Great Bend’s way, but it missed three more shots from the floor and Topeka High then converted its free throws to put the game away.
“We know Topeka High is a very athletic group and we might have been worried that they’re going to block our shot and that type of thing and we didn’t completely believe in ourselves that we could make the shots,” Tatkenhorst said. “Certainly, you can’t knock our effort, our team work and our want to.
“It was our chance to get a signature win, and we didn’t quite get it.”
Kalie LeShore scored a game-high 14 points, including making 9 of 13 free throws. Brack and Tutak scored eight points apiece, and Taycee Bunn totaled seven points for the Lady Panthers, who sank an impressive 22 of 27 free throws in the game.
LeShore, in particular, broke down the Trojans’ defensive with her dribble penetration.
“She did well and there were a few times there in the third quarter where she got too far deep near the basket and got tied up,” Tatkenhorst said. “Kalie brings something that a lot of girls can’t do.”
In a second quarter of runs, Topeka High scored the final four points, capped by Sprew’s basket with six seconds left before halftime, to mount a 24-20 lead at intermission.
Topeka High went on an 8-2 run during the opening three minutes of the second quarter for a 17-8 advantage, but the Lady Panthers answered back in a big way. They scored six straight points to close to 17-14, prompting Trojans head coach Shanna Perine to call a timeout with 2:54 left in the half.
The Lady Panthers scored four straight points out of the timeout — two free throws by Liz Kutina and a basket from the baseline from Haney — to go ahead 18-17 at the 2:12 mark.
Jasmine Benning converted a three-point play to put the Trojans back up, 20-18, before Great Bend’s Tutak’s basket tied it at 20 with a basket from the baseline.
In a turnover-filled opening quarter, Topeka High owned a 9-6 lead after Sprew’s basket in the lane at the 1:28 mark.
Bunn converted four straight free throws, and Kutina had a bucket in the paint for the Lady Panthers’ six first-quarter points.
“We didn’t back down from them and we were playing them really tough,” said Bunn, who had the Lady Panthers’ lone 3-pointer. “We came out strong, but we just didn’t make our shots in the beginning.
“We made our free throws, which is a good thing, but we need to hit more shots from the floor and have faith in ourselves.”

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Non-Conference
At Emporia High School
Glacier’s Edge
Basketball Tournament
 
GIRLS
Thursday
Topeka High 55, Great Bend 49
GREAT BEND (4-7)
     Alexis Brack 3 2-2 8, Kelsey Crosby 0 0-2 0, Olivia Basye 0 2-2 2, Liz Kutina 1 2-2 4, Kaitlee Spray 0 0-0 0, Jennifer Allende 0 0-0 0, Cassidy Tutak 3 2-2 8, Taycee Bunn 1 4-4 7, Kalie LeShore 2 9-13 13, Jordan Haney 3 1-2 7. Totals 13 22-27 49.
TOPEKA HIGH (6-4)
     Raiana Maples 0 0-0 0, Mandy Madden 1 1-2 3, Brittney Redmond 3 1-2 7, Brittany Harden 4 0-3 8, Krystal Corhn 1 0-0 2, Bri Madden 0 0-0 0, Bailey Evans 0 0-0 0, Jasmine Benning 3 1-1 7, Whitney Brooks 2 2-2 7, Daria Sprew 10 1-2 21. Totals 24 6-12 55.
Great Bend    6    14    14    15    —    49
Topeka High    9    15    15    16    —    55
     Three-point goals — Great Bend 1 (Bunn); Topeka High 1 (Brooks). Fouled out — Sprew, Benning.
Glacier’s Edge Girls
Basketball Tournament
First round
    SM East 40, Junction City 17
    Topeka 55, Great Bend 49
    Emporia 58, Hutchinson 40
    Olathe East 61, Derby 35