Panthers pull away from Pratt
Finally able to pull away in the final two minutes, the Concordia High School girls' basketball team defeated Pratt 58-49 in the opening round of the Class 4A tournament, Tuesday night in the Concordia Junior-Senior High School gymnasium.
Concordia had a six-point lead cut to just 48-47 when Pratt's Kate Jackson knocked down a three-point shot with 2:18 remaining in the game.
The Panthers then outscored the Greenbacks 9-2 down the stretch to capture the win and advance to the sub-state championship game at Clearwater on Friday night.
"Give credit to our girls for making adjustments and finally being able to get stops and pull away," Concordia coach Trey Kuhlman said.
Concordia, seeded fifth overall in 4A West, plays fourth-seeded Clearwater in the title game.
Clearwater (14-7) downed Augusta 56-46 in the first round on Tuesday.
The winner of the championship game advances to the state tournament, to be played next week at the Tony's Pizza Event Center in Salina.
Concordia (13-8) fell behind Pratt 6-3 to start the game.
A basket by Charlize Cash and four straight points by Taylor McDaniel gave the Panthers a 9-6 lead.
McDaniel led all scorers with 25 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
Cash recorded a double-double, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Pratt got a three-point shot and two free throws by Corinne Donnenwerth to reclaim the lead at 11-9.
McDaniel scored inside to tie the game at 11-11.
Another bucket by McDaniel 18 seconds into the second quarter gave Concordia a 13-11 cushion.
Hope Hughes completed a three-point play and the Greenbacks were back on top, 14-13.
Rylie Jessup scored five points and Cash added four during a 9-2 span of just 1:32 that put the Panthers up 22-16.
Pratt, trailing 27-21, scored the final four points of the first half to close the gap to 27-25.
Hughes, who scored 20 points, gave Pratt the lead back at 28-27 by connecting on a three-point shot early in the second half.
Concordia then used a 10-4 spurt to grab a 37-32 advantage.
Hughes buried consecutive threes, and the Greenbacks led again, 38-37.
Cash hit from 12 feet and Jessup drilled a three to put the Panthers on top to stay, 42-38.
Jessup joined McDaniel and Cash in double figures with 11 points.
Cash scored the first two points of the fourth quarter to make it a 44-38 game.
Renee Hamm hit a three and Jaycie Theis got a steal and made a layup to get Pratt within a point, 44-43.
Concordia got baskets by Carlie Carlgren and McDaniel to up the lead to 48-43.
Theis went one of two from the free throw line and Jackson made a three, and the Panthers again led by just a point, 48-47.
In a span of 10 seconds, Concordia got a bucket by McDaniel, and a steal and layup by Cash, who was also fouled.
Cash made a free throw, and the Panthers led 53-47 with 1:47 on the clock.
Two free throws by Theis pulled Pratt within four points, 53-49.
Kinsleigh Bethune went one of two from the free throw line to make it a 54-49 Concordia lead with 58 seconds left.
The Panthers forced a Pratt turnover.
McDaniel made four of six free throws over the final 49 seconds to lock up the win for Concordia.
"Switching to our 2-3 zone definitely helped us get three or four stops in a row to finally be able to pull away," Kuhlman said. "I thought, offensively, we were able to shoot with confidence and keep attacking the rim and getting paint touches. And we knew if we could get paint touches we had more size and physicality down low."
Theis scored 14 points for Pratt.
Concordia has won seven out of its last eight games heading into the sub-state championship game.
"The last seven or eight games here we were playing to our potential. The girls are having fun with it and that is what it is all about," Kuhlman said. "A good couple of practices here and good preparation and good focus going into Friday is going to be huge for us."
By defeating Augusta in the opening round of sub-state, Clearwater has posted four straight wins.
The Indians have won six of their last seven games.
"They have got a lot of size. They have a senior guard who is really good and takes control of the offense. She sees the court really well," Kuhlman said. "They like to get up and pressure. We will have to be ready. Take care of the basketball, execute offensively and get defensive stops."
PRATT (49
Jackson 2-0-3 5, Theis 4-6-4 14, Hamm 2-0-4 5, McGuire 0-0-2 0, Hughes 8-1-0 20, Donnenwerth 1-2-5 5. Totals: 17-9-18 49.
CONCORDIA (58)
Bethune 1-1-1 4, Jessup 4-0-1 11, Carlgren 1-0-3 2, Cash 7-2-0 16, McDaniel 8-9-2 25, Williams 0-0-1 0, Roush 0-0-2 0. Totals: 21-12-10 58.