BY BUDDY TABLER
Special to the Tribune
LYONS — The Larned girls jumped all over Lyons in the first quarter, outscoring them 26-8 enroute to a 56-33 victory Jan. 23. Larned opened the game with full-court pressure and Lyons couldn’t handle it as they made eleven turnovers that Larned turned into easy baskets. By halftime the turnovers had increased to sixteen and Larned’s lead had grown to 38-21. An 11-4 run by Larned in the third left the homesteading Lady Lions on the short end of a 49-25 score and Larned cruised to the Central Kansas League victory.
Larned’s offense was keyed by their aggressive defense and the Lyons ball handlers wilted under the pressure.
Larned coach Jerrod Smith said, “I liked our energy, I liked our defense, especially in that first quarter when the tone of the game was set. We didn’t maintain that same energy but we played everybody which sometimes takes away that energy.”
Mostly Lyons offense was ineffective but they did manage to make five 3-point shots in the game. They made 12 of 26 field goal attempts for 47% but only converted 4 of 10 free throw attempts.
Peyton Kruse led Lyons with 15 points while Keirah Davis added support with 8 as Lyons dropped to 1-10 for the season.
Larned improved to 6-6 with the win. Jadyn Crosby led the Lady Indians with 22 points while Akielah Collins was also in double figures with 11. McKenzie Reinert added 7 in a balanced Larned scoring attack. The Lady Indians made 22 of 48 shots for 46% and converted 8 of 12 free throw attempts.
LYONS 55, LARNED 43 The Lyons Lions broke open a tight game in the third quarter as they went on a 10-0 run to open the third quarter and it was enough to fuel a 55-43 Central Kansas League victory Jan. 23.
Lyons outscored Larned 18-6 in the pivotal third quarter to take a 40-29 lead into the final stanza. Larned missed their first eleven shots of the third quarter as they gave up a 23-22 halftime lead. The Indians made only 6 of 31 shots in the second half for 19% and it proved costly in the loss.
Larned coach Luke Steinlage said, “We knew the first few minutes of the third quarter would be important. Lyons came out on fire, with a lot of energy and we didn’t and we got into a hole we could not recover from.
We’ve got to keep trying to figure it out.”
Lyons dominated the rebounding and it gave them a lot of second chance opportunities. The Lions height made scoring inside difficult for Larned. A front line of 6’8”, 6’5” and 6’2” in their 2-3 zone made scoring a chore for the Indians and a fourth quarter rally was not enough to recover.
Lyons improved to 4-6 with the win. They were led in scoring by Ethan Luck with 16 while Xavier Solis added 13 and Tegan Link 10 as the Lions put up a balanced scoring attack. They made 23 of 49 field goal attempts for 46% and converted 7 of 13 free throws.
With the poor shooting in the second half, Larned finished the night just 14 of 52 for a chilly 26% and they made only 11 of 22 free throw attempts as they saw their record fall to 2-10. Carson Shaver led the Indians with 14 points but he was the only Indian in double figures. Tristan Regan scored 8 and Andres Martinez added 6.
