Panthers suffer narrow 36-33 loss to Riley County

Shut out over the final 5:10 on the game, the Concordia High School girls' basketball team fell 36-33 to  Riley County Tuesday night in the Concordia Junior-Senior High School gymnasium.
Concordia took a 33-31 lead on Riley County when Ashley Bartlett scored with 5:10 remaining in the game.
Riley County would score the next five points to go up 36-33 and then held on to defeat the Panthers.
“I honestly just think it is a lack of experience playing in close games. The kids put themselves in a really good position and then not having varsity experience, having a young team and not having experience on how to close a game contributed,” Concordia coach Carly Bloomfield said. “We had opportunities, we had looks, we had shots--they didn't fall.”
Concordia (4-12) took a 29-23 lead over Riley County into the fourth quarter.
The Falcons got a three-point play by Taryn Shepard, a three-point shot by Lindsey Roles and then a steal and layup by Shepard in the first 1:26 of the final period to reclaim the lead at 31-29.
Bartlett then scored four points in 39 seconds to put the Panthers back in front, 33-31.
Maddie Davis knocked down a three-point shot, and Riley County led 34-33.
A basket by Hailey Sharp with 1:00 on the clock gave the Falcons the 36-33 cushion.
Concordia came up with an offensive rebound off a missed shot by Carlie Carlgren and called a timeout with 42 seconds left.
Another shot by Carlgren wouldn't fall and Riley County came away with the ball.
Concordia forced the Falcons into a turnover.
A three-point attempt by Hanna Acree to tie the game was off the mark, and the ball went out of bounds to Riley County with 17 seconds remaining.
The Falcons again committed a turnover.
A guarded three-point shot by Acree as time expired wouldn't fall, and Riley County escaped with the win.
“I think the kids had a lot of opportunities to learn from that last two to three minutes for future games, future seasons,” Bloomfield said.
Freshman Taylor McDaniel led the way for Concordia with 16 points.
Acree finished with seven points and Bartlett added six.
“I think they played really well as a team. Taylor was getting the buckets in the beginning, but it was a team effort to get her the ball. They passed the ball quickly,” Bloomfield said. “I felt like they all played together and did the little things that we have been working on, so I felt like I saw improvement in every aspect of the game.”
Sharp and Roles scored 10 points each for Riley County.
McDaniel scored the first six points of the game.
A 7-2 spurt pulled Riley County within a point, 8-7.
Acree hit a three to give Concordia an 11-7 lead.
A three by Davis made it 11-10 heading into the second quarter.
Two free throws by McDaniel and one by Acree gave the Panthers a 14-10 advantage.
After Roles scored three straight points, McDaniel scored off an offensive rebound to make it 16-13.
Concordia would not score the final 3:48 of the first half.
Riley County got three-point shots by Davis and Shepard to go up 19-16 at halftime.
A three by Acree, two free throws by McDaniel and a follow by Bartlett in the first 2:02 of the second half gave Concordia a 23-19 lead.
Shepard scored for Riley County but the Panthers answered with baskets by Carlgren and McDaniel, and led 27-21.
The two teams traded baskets, and Concordia had the 29-23 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Panthers lost the lead, got it back and then had the scoring drought down the stretch.
Concordia will be on the road for a North Central Kansas League game at Chapman on Friday night.

RILEY COUNTY (36)
Scofield 0-0-1 0, Higgins 0-0-5 0, Shepard 3-0-2 7, Sharp 4-2-4 10, Davis 3-0-1 9, Roles 3-3-0 10. Totals: 13-5-13 36.
CONCORDIA (33)
DeLeon 0-2-4 2, Acree 2-1-2 7, Carlgren 1-0-1 2, Bartlett 3-0-2 6, McDaniel 4-8-1 16. Totals: 10-11-10 33.