Falcons hold off Panthers, 31-29

An open three-point attempt by sophomore Rylie Jessup that bounced off of the rim as time expired allowed the Riley County Falcons to survive a frantic final 45 seconds with a 31-29 victory over the Concordia High School Panthers, Tuesday night in the Concordia Junior-Senior High School gymnasium.
Concordia was trailing Riley County 31-26 when Jessup knocked down her second three of the game to close the gap to 31-29 with 45 seconds remaining in the game.
The Panthers would force a Riley County turnover on the inbounds pass, but the Falcons came up with a steal.
With nine seconds on the clock, the Falcons' Taryn Shepard stepped on the baseline and gave the ball back to the Panthers.
Riley County, with fouls to give, fouled the Panthers twice as they attempted to get the ball up the floor.
Concordia, with 4.6 seconds left, put the ball in the hands of sophomore guard Charlize Cash. She penetrated the Riley County zone and kicked the ball out to a wide open Jessup.
Jessup's three-point attempt to win the game bounced off the rim.
"We knew their 1-3-1 (zone) was going to be hard to attack late in the game, but we were trying to get it back to Char (Cash) and see if she could get to the rim or dump down. I will live with that. Riley was wide open. She set her feet. It looked good from our angle," Concordia coach Trey Kuhlman said of the final play. "I tell them, if you are wide open and your feet are set you need to shoot the basketball. It is just kind of the mentality we have."
The Panthers have dropped their first two games of the season by a combined five points, with both being decided in the final seconds.
"The girls are working hard the entire game and on the scoreboard they are not necessarily being rewarded at the end. But I think it is a great learning experience for the girls, just being in those close games. Being able to handle that pressure and just understanding that when it is late like that every possession is valuable," Kuhlman said.
Jessup, who finished with eight points, was one of just four players to score for Concordia.
Taylor McDaniel led the Panthers with 14 points and also had five rebounds.
Gracie Scofield connected on six three-point shots in scoring 18 points for Riley County.
Jessup and Kinsleigh Bethune each hit a three as Concordia got out to a 10-0 lead in the opening four minutes of the game.
Scofield hit two threes and Anna Lambert knocked down one as Riley County, now 1-1, outscored Concordia 11-2 over the final 3:30 of the first quarter to make it a 12-11 game.
The Panthers led 14-12 when Scofield connected on back-to-back threes to put the Falcons up 18-15.
Another three by Scofield as time expired in the first half gave Riley County a 23-18 cushion.
Scofield buried another three early in the second half to extend the Falcons' lead to 26-18.
Concordia limited Riley County to just two free throws over the final six minutes of the third quarter, but managed just a pair of baskets by McDaniel to cut the deficit to six points, 28-22.
McDaniel scored the first four points of the final period to pull the Panthers within two points, 28-26.
Shepard made a three, and Riley County led 31-26.
A second three of the game by Jessup again pulled Concordia within two points.
The Panthers had two opportunities in the final 45 seconds to tie or take the lead but were unable to convert.
Concordia will play the second of four consecutive home games when it hosts Smoky Valley on Friday night.

RILEY COUNTY (31)
Wamsher 0-0-1 0, Lambert 2-3-0 8, Higgins 0-0-1 0, Scofield 6-0-0 18, Shepard 1-0-4 3, Mitoska 1-0-3 2. Totals: 10-3-9 31.
CONCORDIA (29)
Bethune 1-0-3 3, Jessup 3-0-1 8, Cash 2-0-2 4, McDaniel 7-0-3 14, Roush 0-0-2 0. Totals: 13-0-11 29.