Shooting a season-high 55.8%, the Class 4A sixthranked Labette County Grizzlies cruised to a 62-20 victory over the Chanute Blue Comets in Southeast Kansas League (SEK) girls basketball action here Tuesday.
Labette County went on a 13-0 run in the first quarter before topping that with a 20-0 run in the second. The entire squad was firing on all cylinders in a whole-team effort, something Labette County head coach Brianna Vollmer said the Grizzlies will need to lean on down the stretch.
“I think it’s great, especially coming off a big break,” she said. “They executed the game plan — our press worked really well and we shot well. It’s nice coming off break and not looking sloppy or messy.”
Chanute found a slight groove in the third quarter, but shot just 20% on the night.
“That’s been the struggle all year, putting the ball in the basket,” Chanute head coach Dustin Fox said. “A lot of it is confidence, and believing you can make shots. Confidence comes from two things: the work you put in, and what you choose to believe about yourself. We’ve gotta put in the work and get them to believe they can do it.”
It was a long night for Chanute, as the Grizzlies pressed on defense most of the way.
“They’re a really physical team, and we did not handle the physicality of that game well at all. We’re better than that,” Fox said.
Labette County forced 20 turnovers, an effort led by senior Aubrey Boss and junior Amelia Carnahan. The duo spent the night picking pockets, tossing assists, and scoring at will.
“They’re extremely athletic, quick kids, and they did what makes them successful,” Vollmer said.
After starting the game looking relatively solid on defense, Chanute began allowing more and more opportunities in the transition. Fox noted that the communication and execution looked good, but it was too much to ask defensively.
“When you’re in transition all game long, you’re eventually gonna break down,” he said.
Vollmer mentioned prior struggles in the transition game, but was pleased with how her squad played in transition on Tuesday.
“I think they did their jobs and got their heads up,” she said. “That’s something we worked on a lot over break — getting our head up, seeing the floor, then finishing and converting those steals.”
Quick pace of play did cause some issues, as the Grizzlies coughed up 16 turnovers of their own.
“We wanna keep it to 12 or under,” Vollmer said. “I think you give some up when you’re a team who runs in transition… but that’s way too many, regardless of who’s on the floor.”
Carnahan led all scorers with 16, adding four steals and two assists to boot. Boss added four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Seniors Madison Bevans and Landry O’Brien each notched four steals of their own, while senior Jayden Davis nabbed a team-high five rebounds off the bench. Senior Anna Canntrell added two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Sophomore Sarah Uhner led Chanute with 12 points on some solid catch-andshoot 3-pointers.
“She’s been struggling a bit, so that was really nice to see,” Fox said.
