East leaders beat 'Hounds, 75-50

A 23-4 start during which Fort Scott Community College's women scored only one field goal propelled Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division leading Labette to a 75-50 victory over the Greyhounds in their final home game of the season Saturday at Arnold Arena.

Though the Cardinals (15-1 East, 25-3 overall) played as dominantly as a 3-loss team should, that doesn't mean the Greyhounds (4-12, 12-16) couldn't have performed better, according to FSCC head coach Diana Couch.

"All I can think about was rebounding and not getting back on defense," Couch said. "That was the key to it. We didn't defend quite the way we needed to."

Satoria Bell scored 6 straight Labette points midway through the first half to make it 32-8. At that point, the Greyhounds had 2 field goals and 4 free throws.

"One of the kids said it best: We let the name on the (opponent's) jersey dictate how we played," Couch said. "Defensively, they did nothing to hurt us. We hurt ourselves. We didn't execute. We never broke past the 3-point line to try to advance to the basket."

Though the 'Hounds played better in the second half, the 42-20 lead Labette had at halftime proved to great to overcome. In fact, the Cardinals started the second half on a 15-6 run just to make sure.

Bell finished the game with 28 points and 11 rebounds while teammate Kellindra Zachery added 18 points on 9-of-11 field-goal shooting. In the first half, those two combined to make 13 of 16 field-goals for 26 points.

Shadara Hampton, one of eight sophomores playing their last home game, scored 19 points. Though she didn't shoot well from the floor, going 4 of 18, she was able to draw fouls and get to the free-throw line, where she went 11 for 11.

"Shadara Hampton has, I think, a poor game but winds up with 19 points," Cough said. "Even her bad games are double digits. She really helped us stay in the game. Brittany (Demery)'s been a slump and that was a factor that hurt us."

Valencia Kelly returned to play her final home game after missing the last three with strep throat. She managed 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting but wasn't able to connect on a 3-point shot, going 0 for 9 from behind the arc.

"Valencia probably played a little bit more than she should have," Couch said. "She's still recovering."

Labette shot 52 percent from the field, making 35 of 67 field-goal attempts. Fort Scott shot 31 percent on 15 of 48 but made 19 of 20 free throws.

Labette ourebounded Fort Scott, 44-28. The Cardinals also had 15 steals as Fort Scott committed 21 turnovers.

The 'Hounds go to Johnson County Wednesday night for a 5:30 p.m. start in conference play. Saturday, they conclude the regular season at Kansas City Kansas. The Region VI Tournament begins March 1 with Garden City being the most likely first-round opponent at the moment. The Broncbusters upset No. 23 Cloud County 87-77 Saturday.

---

LABETTE: Bell 13-20 2-3 28, Zachery 9-11 0-0 18, Ketterman 0-2 1-2 1, Sunde 2-4 0-0 5, Smith 2-9 0-0 4, Overacker 1-2 0-3 2, P.Kelly 1-3 1-2 3, Henderson 3-7 0-0 6, Andrews 2-3 0-0 4, Ellis 1-1 0-0 2, Pledger 1-5 0-0 2, Johnson 0-0 0-2 0. TOTALS: 35-67 4-12 75.

FORT SCOTT: Bloodworth 0-3 0-0 0, Teich 1-6 2-2 5, Hampton 4-18 11-11 19, Mattox 1-2 0-0 2, Demery 1-4 2-2 4, V.Kelly 6-11 0-1 12, Hathaway 0-0 0-0 0, Okoronkwo 1-2 00- 2, Jackson 1-2 4-4 6. TOTALS: 15-48 19-20 50.

Halftime: Labette, 42-20.

Three-point field goals: Labette 1-11 (Sunde 1-3, Bell 0-1, Smith 0-1, Overacker 0-1, Pledger 0-1, Ketterman 0-2, Henderson 0-2), Fort Scott 1-17 (Teich 1-5, V.Kelly 0-1, Bloodworth 0-2, V.Kelly 0-9).

Total fouls: Labette 24, Fort Scott 16. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.

Rebounds: Labette 44 (Bell 11), Fort Scott 28 (Hampton 6). Assists: Labette 13 (Smith 3), Fort Scott 4 (4 with 1 each). Turnovers: Labette 17, Fort Scott 21. Steals: Labette 15 (Pledger 4), Fort Scott 4 (4 with 1 each). Blocked shots; Labette 3 (3 with 1 each), Fort Scott 1 (Okoronkwo).