HOISINGTON – The Pratt and Hoisington girls basketball coaches gave the defensive scouting report a near perfect grade after playing back-to-back games.
Pratt squeezed out a 10-9 halftime lead as both defenses took full advantage of knowing the other team’s offensive tendencies.
Pratt’s defense adjusted after halftime to fuel a 34-23 Central Kansas League basketball victory. The Greenbacks forced 16 Cardinal second-half turnovers that turned into easy transition baskets and extra possessions. Pratt improved to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the Central Kansas League.
“We made some defensive adjustments after halftime,” said Pratt coach Emmanuel Adigun. “We wanted to throw out a defense they had not seen the first half.”
The Greenbacks outscored the Cardinals 24-14 in the second half. Seven Greenbacks scored and they made 9 of 13 free throws.
Stonie Flemming and Breann Becker led Pratt with seven points. Paige Bailey and Destani Garten added six points apiece.
Pratt committed 22 turnovers, which bothered Adigun.
Turnovers also hurt the Cardinals, which had 26 ballhandling errors. Rylie Koester led the Cardinals (2-4, 0-1 CKL) with 15 points. But her teammates added just eight points.
“Pratt pushed up the defensive intensity that second half,” said Hoisington coach Mandy Mason. “Turnovers continue to hurt us. But well continue to fight to get better as a basketball team. We’ve got to have some other players step up on offense. When  they are open, they’ve got to take the shot.”
The Cardinals’ defense was effective, holding the Greenbacks to 10 points the first half. But the turnovers led to some easy scores.
“I saw a lot of good things tonight that we can build on,” Mason said. “Pratt is a hard team to defend because they’ve got players who can drive to the basket and still shoot the 3-pointer.”
Pratt led 7-2 after one quarter despite scoring on three of 13 possessions. By halftime, Pratt had scored on four of 26 possessions against hustling Hoisington defense. Becker’s 3-pointer was Pratt’s lone score.
Pratt’s combination of pressure and aggressive man-to-man defense with traps limited the Cardinals to four scores on 30 offensive trips.
The Cardinals used a 3-point play from Rylie Koester to get within 10-9.