Senior trio leads Panthers past Irish

CHAPMAN — The senior trio of Terin Rundus, Kendall Reynolds and Zoe Bechard combined for 41 points to lead the Concordia Panthers to a 49-40 North Central Kansas League victory over the Chapman Irish Friday night.
Rundus, a 5-5 forward, paced Concordia with 16 points in the game.
Reynolds, a 5-6 guard, was six of seven from the free throw line on her way to scoring 13 points.
Bechard chipped in 12 points for the Panthers.
“If they can consistently do that we are right where we need to be,” Concordia coach Carly Bloomfield said of the production the Panthers got from its three senior leaders. “They were able to make some of those shots they have been missing in past games. They also did a better job of going in and out, bringing the ball into post and then kicking out, as well as driving and dishing. The ball movement was a little better than what it has been in the past.”
Concordia snapped a two-game losing skid and is now 3-4 overall and 2-3 in league play.
The three wins is one more than the Panthers posted last season.
“I think they recognize what we are doing is working; we are making improvement, we have just got to keep at it,” Bloomfield said.
Chapman, which was playing just its second game of the season because of COVID-19 related issues, falls to 0-2 overall and 0-2 in the NCKL.
Concordia trailed just once in the game at 6-4.
A three-point play by Bechard, a three-point shot by Reynolds and a jumper by Rundus put the Panthers on top to stay, 12-6, with 50 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Marie Meuli scored on a drive and Shannon Anderson knocked down a shot as time expired in the first period to pull Chapman within two points, 12-10.
Concordia would extend the lead to eight points, 21-13.
Chapman got as close as four points in the second period when Anderson, who had a team high 15 points, connected on a three-point shot.
A jumper by Rundus and two free throws by Bechard put the Panthers on top 25-17.
Concordia, shooting right around 50 percent from the free throw line as a team going into the game, was 14 of 18 from the stripe for 78 percent.
Bechard made six of eight free throws.
Chapman would get back within five points when Keiera Jones scored late in the first half to make it a 26-21 game.
Scoring the first four points of the second half, the Irish closed that gap to one point, 26-25.
Rundus scored six points in just 53 seconds and Bechard hit one of two free throws to push the Panthers’ lead to 33-25.
Anderson completed a three-point play, and it was a 33-28 game.
Another basket by Rundus and a three-point play by freshman Carlie Carlgren gave Concordia a 38-28 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.
With senior starter Chloe Conway in foul trouble throughout the game, Carlgren came off the bench and scored six points.
Concordia opened the final quarter with a 6-2 spurt to go on top 44-30.
Anderson hit a three for Chapman.
Hitting one of two free throws, Reynolds put the Panthers up 45-33 with 4:27 remaining in the game.
Chapman didn’t go away quietly.
The Irish went on a 7-2 run to get within seven points, 47-40, when Maya Kirkpatrick scored with 34 seconds left.
“We need to be more confident when we are ahead and not let them back in the game,” Bloomfield said. “We are not used to winning, and so I think we just need to have more confidence that when we are ahead we keep building on that lead. We just don’t have a lot of experience at being ahead at the end of games.”
Two free throws by Reynolds with 28 seconds on the clock locked up the win for the Panthers.
Concordia will play in the Salina Invitational Tournament this week.
Seeded fourth in the tournament, the Panthers take on fifth-seeded Andover at 3 p.m. Thursday at Salina Central High School in the first of three games in three days.
The winner of the game will play the winner of the game between top-seeded Salina Central and eighth-seeded Wichita West on Friday.
The losers of those two first-round games will meet in the consolation bracket on Friday.
The consolation and championship games will be played on Saturday.

CONCORDIA (49)
Bechard 3-6-1 12, Acree 0-0-3 0, Conway 1-0-3 2, Reynolds 3-6-3 13, Nordell 0-0-2 0, Rundus 8-0-3 16, Carlgren 2-2-1 6. Totals: 16-14-16 49.
CHAPMAN (40)
Kirkpatrick 2-5-4 9, Cavanaugh 0-1-2 1, Frieze 0-1-2 1, Anderson 5-1-1 15, Meuli 4-0-3 9, Jones 1-0-1 2, Lewis 1-1-2 3. Totals: 9-9-16 40.