BY JIM MISUNAS

jmisunas@gbtribune.com

Great Bend's girls delivered an emphatic message with a dominating 65-26 rout of Junction City to open the 2023-2024 basketball season.

Preseason all-stater Sadie Spray scored a career high 31 points and played her usual all-around game with several steals to ignite 33 takeaways by the Panthers.

Spray had plenty of offensive help. Emilee Hall scored 13 points with Jillian Reimer (7) and Makenzie Premer (6) chipping in with solid games.

Great Bend (1-0) opened in spectacular fashion, forcing nine Blue Jay turnovers before they attempted a shot. The Panthers' lightning-quick full-court pressure 15 Blue Jays turnovers in the five first minutes for a 20-0 lead.

Junction City trailed 24-0 when Morgan Nabus scored on the Blue Jays' 21st possession of the game. 

The Panthers made the extra pass all night long, finding the open shooter with excellent teamwork. As the second quarter unfolded Hall, Spray, and Premer dished out assists to teammates.

Great Bend took advantage of its superior speed and athleticism to constantly bother Junction City ballhandlers. The halftime lead of 40-9 stretched to 54-18 after three periods, triggering a running clock.

The only statistic the Panthers were unable to master was the 3-point shot with zero of 12 shooting from long range.

Junction City 2 7 9 8 — 26

Great Bend 24 16 14 11 — 65

JUNCTION CITY (0-1)—Hatcher 3-6 2-2 10, Miller 0-2 1-2 1, Riley 1-3 0-1 2, O'Neal 2-9 0-0 4, Etheridge 0-2 1-2 3, Hotard 0-1 0-0 0, Rexroad 2-2 0-0 4, Nabus 2-9 0-0 4, Totals 10-34 4-7 26.

GREAT BEND (1-0)—Spray 12-20 7-7 31, Hall 5-11 3-4 13, Reimer 2-5 3-4 7, Premer 3-8 0-0 6, Bryant 2-4 0-0 4, Mazouch 1-3 0-0 2, Ringo 1-5 0-0 2, Thexton 0-1 0-0 0, Nicholson 0-1 0-0 0, McCauley 0-5 0-0 0, Totals 26-63 13-15 65.

3-pointers—JC 2-10 (Hatcher 2-5, Riley 0-1, O'Neal 0-4), GB 0-14 (Reimer 0-1, Thexton 0-1, Nicholson 0-1, McCauley 0-4, Spray 0-5).