COFFEYVILLE, Kan. - Riding a six-game win streak, the Independence Lady Pirates traveled down the road for round two with rival the Coffeyville Red Ravens. The Lady Pirates exploded after a close first half, outscoring the Red Ravens 30-22 in the second half for a huge 62-44 victory.
The Lady Pirates had two players in double figures led by Brittany Reeves with 18 points and Logan Collyer with 13 points.
"This wasn't a very pretty game, but after a very physical game on Monday I felt that our kids played hard and executed when they needed to," coach Leslie Crane said. "Several of our players came in clutch for us tonight forcing turnovers and out rebounding them and we got the win when we needed to and continue to play well."
"On Saturday, we play Cloud and they're a good club with a great coach. Their players are well-rounded and play hard, but we'll enjoy this win tonight and start preparing for them tomorrow."
In the first quarter, a trip to the line for Tatiana McCree put the Red Ravens up by one before a three-pointer from Logan Collyer and a hook shot from Brittany Reeves pushed the Lady Pirate up by four. Another basket for Reeves pushed the lead to six before a jumper from Brooklyn Wade but a put back for Kierra Crockett made the score 9-3 at the 5:50 mark.
A basket for Riana Rangi-Brown cut the lead to four before a basket from Reeves but a shot from Hannah Murphy cut it down to four. A layup for Rangi- Brown cut the lead to two before a jumper for Mychaell Gray, but a foul shot from Rangi-Brown made it 13-10 at the 1:40 mark. Another trip to the line for Rangi-Brown cut the lead to one before a basket from Reeves on separate occasions pushed the lead to five and the Lady Pirates led 17-12 after the opening period.
The second quarter began with a layup for Victoria Mikkelsen before a three from Collyer, but a shot from Lasheicka Joseph cut the lead to twelve before another layup for Mikkelsen. A basket for Gray pushed the lead to twelve before a three by Jayleen Cole but a basket from Sadie Jordan made it 28-17 with 4:45 left in the first half.
A trip to the line for McCree brought Coffeyville within ten before a layup from Jordan, but a shot from Julia Calafell cut the lead back to ten. A floater from Jessica Goodluck pushed the lead back to twelve before a pair of free throws from Wade and the Lady Pirates led 32-22 at the half.
In the third quarter, a free throw for Reeves pushed the lead to eleven before a three by Collyer extended it to fourteen, but a three from Rangi-Brown and basket for Joseph had it down to ten. Another basket from Reeves got the lead back to twelve before a layup for Mikkelsen got it to fourteen, but a layup for Fatarah Kinnard gave the largest lead of the night, 42-26 at the 5:34 mark.
A free throw from Reeves had Independence leading by seventeen before a three from Wade, but Jordan answered with a layup before a score from Talima Harjo. A jumper for Adelina Carr and basket from Jordan had the lead at fourteen before a score for Harjo, but Crockett got a layup making the score 49-35 Independence going to the final minutes.
The fourth quarter began with a three for Gray before buckets by Calafell and Joseph on back to back occasions brought the Red Ravens within eleven, but a bucket for Crockett pushed it back to thirteen. A score by Reeves pushed the lead to fifteen before a three by Wade, but a pair of free throws for Collyer made it 58-44 with 2:30 remaining. Technical shots by Collyer pushed the lead to sixteen before a layup from Reeves and the Lady Pirates were victorious taking the contest by a margin of eighteen points.
Independence (15-9, 10-7) returns home Saturday February 16 hosting the Cloud County Thunderbirds with tipoff set for 4 pm.