Persistent Panthers steal 53-52 win from Bulldogs

Persistence finally paid off for the Concordia High School Panthers.
Concordia had mounted fourth quarter comeback attempts in each of its first three games only to come up short.
Trailing Marysville by 12 points to open the fourth quarter, the Panthers rallied once again.
A steal and a layup by Kinsleigh Bethune and then another steal with time running out gave Concordia a 53-52 North Central Kansas League victory over the Bulldogs Tuesday night in the Concordia Junior-Senior High School gymnasium.
"I told them, believe in the team here, that is all you can do, just believe in each other. We have been telling them that it is we over me, that is our motto, and I thought our girls bought in well," Concordia coach Trey Kuhlman said. "I thought Carlie (Carlgren) gave us a good look guarding the inbounder and then Kins made a nice play there at the end. And getting another steal there to close it out was huge for us."
Concordia, now 1-3 overall and 1-0 in league play, was down 46-34 to Marysville at the start of the final period.
Led by sophomore Charlize Cash, the Panthers went on a 12-2 run over the first 4:15 of the quarter to pull within two points, 48-46.
Cash finished the game with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
The two teams traded baskets and Cash hit a three-point shot to give Concordia its first lead of the second half, 51-50, with 2:30 remaining in the game.
Concordia had three opportunities to increase its lead but came up empty.
Marysville's Lindsey Dressman was fouled with 51 seconds on the clock.
Dressman, who led all scorers with 30 points, made free throws to put the Bulldogs back on top, 52-51.
Cash was unable to knock down a jumper in the lane, and Marysville came away with the ball and called a timeout with 11 seconds left.
With Concordia applying full-court pressure, Bethune stole the Bulldogs' inbounds pass and made an off-balance layup to give the Panthers the 53-52 lead.
The Panthers came up with a second straight steal to seal the win.
"I think it was a much needed win for us. We have been in those first three and just weren't rewarded with a win. And that happens," Kuhlman said. "I thought it was well deserved for our girls and we will look to try to get another one on Friday. I told them, you are 1-0 in league. We want to be top three in league and we are off to good start there."
Concordia got out to a 6-2 lead in the game.
Dressman made two threes and Bella Rader hit one during an 11-0 spurt that gave Marysville a 13-6 advantage.
Trailing 15-8, the Panthers got three-point baskets by Rylie Jessup and Bethune to pull within a point, 15-14.
Bethune joined Cash in double figures with 10 points.
Marysville, 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the league, scored the first four points of the second quarter, and led 19-14.
A 10-3 surge gave Concordia the lead back at 24-22 when Jesika Bisnette made a three.
Getting two threes by Dressman, the Bulldogs scored the final eight points of the first half to take a 30-24 halftime advantage.
Concordia got as close as four points, 30-26, early in the second half.
Marysville, with Dressman scoring 13 points, stretched its lead to 46-34 heading into the final eight minutes of the game.
The Panthers then came charging back once again to pull out their first win.
"Getting defensive rebounds and getting stops on the defensive side of the ball was huge for us. I think we only allowed six points in the fourth quarter," Kuhlman said.
Concordia will complete its four-game homestand by hosting Abilene in a league game on Friday night.

MARYSVILLE (52)
Winkler 1-0-0 2, Rader 3-0-2 7, Roesch 4-0-0 9, Spurgeon 1-0-1 2, Nemec 0-0-2 0, L. Dressman 10-5-3 30, A. Dressman 1-0-2 2. Totals: 20-5-10 52.
CONCORDIA (53)
Bisnette 1-0-1 3, Bethune 4-0-1 10, Jessup 1-0-1 3, Carlgren 4-0-2 8, Cash  9-0-2 20, 3-0-3 6, Williams 0-1-0 1, Roush 1-0-2 2. Totals: 23-1-11 53.