INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - In the middle of a hot streak, sophomore night for the Independence Lady Pirates honored sophomores Logan Collyer, Kierra Crockett, Jessica Goodluck, Mychaell Gray, Fatarah Kinnard and Victoria Mikkelsen in their final regular season home game against the Allen County Red Devils while also showing breast cancer awareness with 'Think Pink' night. The Lady Pirates came out strong and never looked back dominating the Red Devils 91-60 for their ninth straight victory..
The Lady Pirates had six players in double figures led by Victoria Mikkelsen, Mychaell Gray and Kierra Crockett all with 14 points, Brittany Reeves with 13 points, Jessica Goodluck with 11 points and Logan Collyer with 10 points.
"I thought we played with a lot of intensity and did some very good things tonight," coach Leslie Crane said. "Our shooting along our defense was great and we shared the ball very well to deliver a win to send our sophomores out on top."
"Our three-point shooting was great as we shot 60 percent and we'll continue the dynamics with that aspect and prepare for a strong showing on Saturday to close out the season."
In the first quarter, Independence struck first with a bucket from Brittany Reeves before a score from Ariel Walker, but a basket from Kinnard put the Lady Pirates up by two. A score for Mikkelsen pushed the lead to four before another basket for Mikkelsen, but a basket from Walker and three from Gaby Guzman made the score 8-7 at the 6:00 mark.
A jumper by MIkkelsen got the lead out to three points before two free throws from the sophomore and a layup from Reeves had the Lady Pirates leading by seven points. A 4-3 run after a three by Gray pushed the lead to eight before a basket for Kinnard and another bucket from Gray, but free throws from ChrisAlee Patterson made it 22-12 at the 1:35 mark. A 4-3 run capped by yet another three for Gray ended the period with the Lady Pirates leading 26-15.
The second quarter began with a basket for Mikkelsen before a jumper by Patterson, but a bucket for Reeves pushed the lead to thirteen. A three for Collyer gave Independence a sixteen-point lead before a score from Patterson, but a layup by Kinnard had the score at 35-17at the 6:45 mark.
Another three for Collyer pushed the lead to twenty-one before a score for Alecia Verge, but Reeves gave the Lady Pirates a 40-19 lead before another long shot from downtown by Gray. The scoring continued for Independence with a three for Macie Price before a bucket and two free throws by Jakira Wilson, but another three for Collyer made the score 49-23
A bucket for Allen was answered by Goodluck with a three-pointer and another basket for the sophomore made it a nineteen-point advantage for the Lady Pirates. A bucket by Reeves pushed the lead to twenty-one and the Lady Pirates led 56-25 going into halftime.
In the third quarter, a three and bucket from Guzman got the Red Devils going before a bucket from Walker but a layup for Goodluck had Independence up by twenty-six points. A run of 4-0 for Wilson brought Allen closer before a basket by Crockett and bank shot for Reeves, but with another score for Wilson the score was 62-38 at the 4:11 mark.
A 3-0 run after a bucket from Kinnard pushed the lead to twenty-seven points before a 3-3 even run capped by a layup from Crockett, but free throws from Patterson made it 68-42 at the 55 second mark. Two more baskets from Crockett pushed the lead to thirty points and Independence led 72-42 heading to the final minutes of play.
In the fourth quarter, a 4-0 run for Crockett had the Lady Pirates up by thirty-four points before a bucket from Melvia Seymore and a basket by Wilson but a umper from Goodluck had the score at 78-46. A bucket for Tunmi Amusa and Wilson put points on the board for Allen before a basket by Sadie Jordan but a run of 5-2 for Independence made the score 85-52 with 3:23 remaining.
A three by Walker was matched by another three for Gray before a layup by Amusa, but a jumper for Goodluck made it a thirty-three-point lead for Independence. Allen outscored the Lady Pirates 3-1 but Independence picked up a convincing win on sophomore night.
Independence (17-9, 12-7) travels to face the Cowley Tigers for the final game of the regular season Saturday February 23 with tip-off set for 5:30 pm.