FSHS wins 7th straight over 'Dogs

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- Fort Scott High's girls defeated Independence for the seventh consecutive time Friday night, taking a Southeast Kansas League contest, 50-39, at the FSHS gymnasium.

The Bulldogs came into the contest off a 36-34 win over third-place Iola Tuesday. That was a big win considering that the Fillies are just one of two teams that have defeated Labette County this season.

"Independence is a solid team," Fort Scott head coach Jeff Arnstrong said. "They have some good players."

However, Fort Scott (9-2 SEK, 10-5 overall) was able to use a 10-0 run over the late first and early second periods to get a comfortable 17-5 lead with 6:06 left in the first half.

It was 24-16 at halftime but the Bulldogs (5-6, 7-8) were able to mount a rally, taking a 27-26 lead with 2:55 to go in the third period after freshman Kayla Steinle hit a three-point shot.

But Elizabeth Meech tied the score by hitting the second of two free throws then put the Tigers back in front for good with a layup off an Afton Gray assist.

"We went through a little bit of a rocky time in the third quarter," Armstrong said. "But they responded well and came out and played a lot harder in the fourth."

Two more points from Hannah Hawkins in transition made it a four-point game going into the fourth. Gray then scored a layup off a Joce Allen pass and Jolee Sharp hit two free throws to make it 35-27 with 6:55 remaining.

Kori Page Rienbolt's three-pointer with 4:09 to go made it 42-29, capping what ended up being a 16-2 run over a 7 1/2-minute stretch during which the Tigers held Indy without a field goal.

It was 50-31 when Arm-strong called in his starters with 1:36 to go.

Gray led the Tigers with 11 points and also topped her team in rebounds with seven. Sharp finished with 10 points, Rienbolt had nine and Hawkins finished with seven

"We had a good balance of scoring," Armstrong said. "We got some even scoring off the bench. Hannah had some good points. Joce played one of her more solid point-guard games where (she was) controlling the tempo, playing great defense and getting a lot of assists."

Kirsten Stienle led the Bulldogs with 13 points. Kelsie Meier and Kelby McGrath each had 10 points for Indy, which saw only one other player score.

Fort Scott shot exactly 50 percent from the field on the night, making 18 of 36 field-goal attempts. The Tigers went six of seven in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Indy shot just 37 percent overall on 13 of 35 although they did make five of 10 three-point attempts. The Bulldogs went five of 20 in the first half.

Fort Scott outrebounded Independence, 29-17. Turnovers were even at 23-23.

Allen dished five assists while she and Sharp each picked up four steals.

"I was pleased with how we played," Armstrong said. "We still have some improvement to make but we have a month of basketball left. We shouldn't be playing our best basketball right now. Hopefully, if we keep on track, by the end of the month is when we will be playing our best basketball."

Fort Scott has won 10 of 12 games since an 0-3 start to the season after facing very good competition at the season-opening Willard Tournament. Since then, their only losses have come to Labette County, the SEK leaders.

"The three losses we had at the beginning of the year are to really good teams," Armstrong said. "The Labette losses aren't ones we want to lose but they're a very good team. The losses we've had are to really solid teams. So when Sub-State comes around, we feel we'll have a chance to be very competitive in that group."

The Tigers will head north for Sub-State once again this year with Louisburg and Paola among the teams that will be a part of that tournament.

"I try to keep tabs on what's going on up north," Armstrong said. "Some of them have played some of the teams in the SEK, so I've been able to get a little information about them. It's going to be a tough Sub-State but it's winnable."

The Tigers play league games on the road at Columbus Tuesday and Chanute Friday.

JUNIOR VARSITY -- Fort Scott won 56-23, shutting out Independence in the fourth quarter. Breianna Jones led the Tigers with 18 points while Courtney Carpenter and Erin Coffman each scored 12.

FRESHMEN -- Fort Scott's freshmen lost to Labette County, 58-39, Tuesday. Jenna Campbell scored 18 points for the Tigers in that game.

Friday, the Tigers beat Independence, 38-36, after outscoring the Bulldogs 12-6 in the fourth quarter.

Megan McDermed scored 17 points to lead Fort Scott while Kori Allen added 10.

There will not be a freshmen game Tuesday as Columbus has been unable to field a team.

INDEPENDENCE: Call 0-3 0-0 0, Ki.Steinle 5-13 3-6 13, Meier 3-6 3-4 10, Hignight 0-0 0-0 0, McGrath 3-4 2-3 10, Smith 0-4 0-0 0, Ka.Steinle 2-5 0-0 6, Rollison 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 13-35 8-13 39.

FORT SCOTT: Gray 5-8 1-2 11, J.Allen 1-2 2-3 4, Sharp 4-10 2-4 10, Simpson 0-0 0-0 0, Rienbolt 4-7 0-0 9, Hawkins 1-1 5-6 7, Bingesser 1-1 2-2 4, Collins 0-1 0-0 0, Dikeman 0-1 0-0 0, R.Allen 1-3 0-0 2, Meech 1-2 1-2 3. TOTALS: 18-36 13-20 50.

Independence............ 5 11 11 12 -- 39

Fort Scott.................... 13 11 7 19 -- 50

Three-point field goals: Independence 5-10 (McGrath 2-2, Ka.Steinle 2-4, Meier 1-1, Smith 0-3), Fort Scott 1-2 (Rienbolt 1-1, Gray 0-1).

Total fouls: Independence 17, Fort Scott 12. Fouled out: Ki.Steinle. Technical fouls: none.

Rebounds: Independence 17 (Ki.Stienle 8), Fort Scott 29 (Gray 7). Assists: Independence 8 (Meier 3), Fort Scott 11 (J.Allen 5). Turnovers: Independence 23, Fort Scott 23. Steals: Independence 10 (Meier 2, McGrath 2), Fort Scott 13 (J.Allen 4, Sharp 4). Blocked shots: Independence 3 (Ki.Steinle 3), Fort Scott none.