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St. John girls overwhelm Macksville
spt deh girls bball st john v macksville
Bailey Burns (12) of the St. John High School Tigers girl's basketball team and Olivia Vosburgh (14) of the Macksville High Mustangs battle for a loose ball during the Class 2A substate basketball Tournament Tuesday night at St. John. Burns won the match and took the ball to the hoop. - photo by DALE HOGG Great Bend Tribune

By Ray Strunk
Special to the Tribune

ST. JOHN — Defense was the key for the St. John girls as they rolled to a 45-24 victory over Macksville in Tuesday’s substate.
The win avenged a heartbreaking 46-42 home loss from Feb. 17.
“They beat us here on Senior Night,” said St. John head coach Danny Smith. “... and we were not very happy about that. So there was some determination and just playing hard. We were more focused than the first time we played them.”
The St. John defense was relentless from the start, forcing turnovers on Macksville’s first six possessions and holding them scoreless for the first 51/2 minutes. The Mustangs committed 24 turnovers.
Bailey Burns led the first-quarter offensive attack, scoring nine of the Tigers’ first 14 points on the way to a 14-0 run to start the game.
A bucket from Macksville’s Jenna Russell broke the run and put the Mustangs on the board at the 2:24 mark in the first quarter.
The Tigers led 16-4 at the end of the first.
Both offenses struggled in the second quarter as each team was held to single digits. The Tigers lead by as many as 16 before taking a 23-10 lead into halftime.
Tara Nelson got things going for the Tigers early in the third quarter. Nelson, who finished with nine points in the first half, scored seven straight as the Tigers stretched their lead to 30-13.
Nelson finished with a team high 24 points. Burns added 13.
The Tigers took a 33-18 lead into the final quarter of play.
Trailing 39-19 with under three minutes remaining, Macksville showed some signs of life. Olivia Vosburgh and Cindy Ibarra each found buckets followed by one of two free throws from Vosburgh as the Mustangs cut the lead to 39-24.
Lyset Ibarra led the Mustangs with seven points. Vosburgh finished with six.
St. John responded with six points of their own. After a bucket from Burns, Tara Nelson nabbed a steal and followed to the basket where she converted the layup despite being fouled. She converted the free throw to put the game out of reach.
Kerisa Brown put up the final point for the Tigers, converting a free throw at the 30 second mark to finish with a 45-24 victory.
St. John will face Central Plains (21-0) in Friday’s semifinals.

St. John 16 7 10 12 — 45
Macksville 4 6 8 6 — 24
ST JOHN—Nelson 24, Burns 13, Brown 6, Doran 2.
MACKSVILLE—Lyset Ibarra 2-5 1-3 7, Olivia Vosburgh 1-8 4-6 6, Sophie Filbert 2-9 0-0 4, Cindy Ibarra 1-1 0-0 2, Jenna Russell 1-1 0-1 2, Lexi Wright 1-2 1-2 3; Denise Galan 0-1 0-0 0; Jennifer Ortiz 0-1 0-0 0; Totals 8-30 6-12 24

CLASS 2A, GREENSBURG
MONDAY, BOYS—St. John 72, Kinsley 21; Kiowa County 73, Pratt-Skyline 46; Central Plains 72, Medicine Lodge 46; Macksville 49, Ellinwood 24


TUESDAY, GIRLS—Central Plains 86, Pratt-Skyline 16; St. John 45, Macksville 24; Ellinwood 37, Kiowa County 34; Kinsley 64, Medicine Lodge 41


THURSDAY, BOYS—St. John (20-1) vs. Kiowa County (15-6), 7:30; Central Plains (16-5) vs. Macksville (15-6), 6


FRIDAY, GIRLS—Central Plains (21-0) vs. St. John (11-10), 6; Ellinwood (8-13) vs. Kinsley (13-8), 7:30