LINDSBORG—The Larned girls jumped out to a 20-17 halftime lead but injuries and cold shooting would change all of that as the host Smoky Valley Vikings nabbed their second victory of the season here Friday night, 42-37.
The two teams struggled to an 11-11 first quarter standoff as both teams traded numerous turnovers. After forging a 20-17 halftime lead, Larned scored first to stretch their margin to 22-17 and then disaster struck. Larned players Brook Butler and Baylea Perez collided with each other while playing defense and the game was held up for ten minutes as aid was administered to the two injured players. Neither would return to the game and the momentum shifted from Larned to Smoky Valley.
Smoky Valley would go on to outscore Larned 9-5 to take a 26-25 third quarter advantage. Larned never regained the momentum and the edge they had enjoyed before the injuries as the Vikings used a second-half defense of a box-and-one to defend Katelyn Sanger in the second half. Sanger had 7 first half points but scored only 2 in the second half.
Larned coach Ashley Crosby said, “the two injuries definitely changed things for us, not only offensively but defensively as well. We just weren’t the same after Baylea and Brook got injured.”
Smoky Valley converted 14 of 32 field goal attempts and 7 of 10 free throws as they improved to 2-17 on the season and 1-8 in Central Kansas League play. They were led in scoring by senior Amanda Behanna’s 18 points. She was backed up by Jordan Otto and Bri Franklin with 8 apiece.
Larned falls to 2-17 on the season, 0-9 in CKL play. Larned converted only 13 of 38 field goal attempts and 6 of 13 free throw tries. The Indians were led in scoring by Katie Fischer’s 10 with support supplied by Katelyn Sanger with 9 and Kristin Anderson with 8. Larned will conclude their regular season on Tuesday as they host Lyons in a CKL game.

SMOKY VALLEY 70,
LARNED 45
LINDSBORG—The host smoky Valley Vikings were hitting on all cylinders here Friday evening as they had the hot shooting hand and defeated Larned here Friday evening 70-45. The Vikings shot 57% from the field and were a perfect 11 of 11 from the free throw line as they showed off their offensive prowess.
The two teams battled to a first quarter margin of 12-10 for Lindsborg but by halftime the hot-shooting Vikings had extended that lead to 32-22. Smoky Valley’s Nick Reinert was scoreless in the first quarter but erupted for 14 second-quarter points to pace the Vikings.
Smoky Valley was able to maintain that margin in the third quarter and finished the quarter leading 53-40 but the gates burst wide open in the fourth quarter as Larned could manage only 5 points while missing many easy shots.
Larned coach Jerrod Smith said, “We missed a ton of easy scoring opportunities tonight. We just didn’t shoot the ball well but, when that happens, you can’t let it affect the rest of your game and we did. We didn’t play with the energy that is needed to beat a good team like Smoky Valley.”
The Vikings were led in scoring by Nick Reinert with 19, 14 of those in the second quarter. Brett Heitschmidt added 15 while Ben Weldy chipped in with 13. Smoky Valley improves to 12-7 on the season and 6-3 in Central Kansas League play. The Vikings play at Hillsboro on Tuesday in another CKL game.
Larned falls to 8-11 for the season, 3-6 in CKL play. The Indians converted only 13 of 50 field goal attempts for only 26%. They were 16 of 21 from the charity stripe. They were led in scoring by Brock Skelton with 13 points. He received support from Mason Perez’s 9 and Chance Sanger’s 8. Larned will close out their regular season Tuesday evening as they host Lyons in a CKL game.

CKL BOYS
Halstead 9-0 17-2
Hesston 9-1 16-3
Hillsboro 6-3 14-5
S. Valley 6-3 12-7
Haven 6-3 12-7
Pratt 4-5 8-11
Kingman 4-5 8-11
Larned 3-6 8-11
Hoisington 2-7 6-13
Lyons 1-8 2-17
Nickerson 0-9 3-15
FRIDAY
Halstead 61, Nickerson 52
Haven 55, Hoisington 43
Hesston 64, Hillsboro 53
Pratt 39, Lyons 37
Smoky Valley 70, Larned 45
Sterling 59, Kingman 53 (OT)
TUESDAY
Haven at Halstead
Sterling at Hesston
Smoky Valley at Hillsboro
Hoisington at Pratt
Lyons at Larned
Nickerson at Kingman

CKL GIRLS
Kingman 9-0 16-3
Hesston 9-1 15-4
Halstead 7-2 17-2
Haven 7-2 16-3
Nickerson 6-3 10-8
Hoisington 3-6 7-12
Pratt 4-5 8-11
Hillsboro 2-7 8-11
Lyons 2-7 7-12
SValley 1-8 2-17
Larned 0-9 2-17
FRIDAY
Halstead 55, Nickerson 45
Haven 53, Hoisington 40
Hesston 55, Hillsboro 34
Sterling 57, Kingman 37
Smoky Valley 42, Larned 37
Pratt 52, Lyons 38
TUESDAY
Haven at Halstead
Sterling at Hesston
Smoky Valley at Hillsboro
Hoisington at Pratt
Lyons at Larned
Nickerson at Kingman