CHANUTE — Despite trailing by as much as 10 points in the first quarter, the Chanute Blue Comets girls tied the bow on the regular season with a 60-45 win over the foul-ridden Parsons Vikings on Thursday night.
After building a double-digit lead early, Parsons’ two star players, Braelyn Hinman-Mitchell and Ayanna Robertson, were saddled with foul trouble.
Hinman-Mitchell ended up fouling out early in the third quarter.
“It had a huge impact on the game,” Chanute head coach Dustin Fox said. “Those two in foul trouble changes who they are completely. I’m glad we were able to take advantage of it. But it had a huge impact.”
The Vikings were held to three points in the second quarter and trailed, 26-17, by halftime.
“Whenever you take arguably our two best players off the court, it has a huge effect,” Parsons head coach Erik Lyons said. “We got off to a great start and it was a momentum killer. I don’t know if we could’ve played the first four minutes any better than we did. I applaud the girls for maintaining their composure in a game that was kind of unusual. That’s all I’ll say. It was unlike any game I’ve coached or played in.”
Fox felt Chanute cleaned up its act on the defensive end, sparking the first-half comeback.
“We missed our first eight free throws,” Fox said. “We were just out of sorts early. To Parsons’ credit, they had some kids step up and make some shots. It starts on the defensive end for us. If we’re connected, we can create turnovers and opportunities. The ball has energy when you’re providing energy. When you’re not playing with energy, you get punished for that.”
Brynna Cramer led the Vikings with 13 points.
“She really stepped up and had a good game for us,” Lyons said. “She was aggressive in the second half. I feel like the game is starting to slow down for her. She’s really doing some good things. I’m proud of how she went out there and stepped up. It was something to build off of.”
Kate Uhner led Chanute with 19 points. Sarah Uhner added 15 with five 3-pointers while Laney Holtzman and Grace Lueberring chipped in 10 apiece.
“Having four kids in double figures is a great sign for us,” Fox said. “It speaks to the firepower we potentially have. Kate has been our leading scorer the last few games. She’s getting more aggressive and getting into the paint. Sarah finally got rolling from three in the second half. She’ll make 10 threes in a row in practice, so she’s showing the type of shooter she is.”
Up next
Parsons, now 6-17 overall, secured the 16th and final seed in the KSHSAA 4A East Sub-State Tournament and will face top-seeded Rock Creek in the first round on Tuesday.
“I personally relish the opportunity,” Lyons said. “This was something we’ve been clamoring for. We wanted to get into the playoffs by any means necessary. I’m looking forward to the competition. Getting in this situation can only help us. We have the opportunity to play hard and give our very best effort.”
Chanute, which improved to 13-9, is the No. 11 seed and will hit the road for a rematch with No. 6 Ottawa on Tuesday.
“We saw them this year and they put it on us pretty good,” Fox said. “We didn’t handle their pressure well. We had a lot of turnovers. The key is to take care of the basketball and make sure we’re getting back. They’ve got a great guard we need to keep tabs on.”
