No. 6 Highland thwarts 'Hound rally

Fort Scott Community College women's head coach Diana Couch said that she didn't have to talk to her team after they were unable to complete a rally and fell to NJCAA Division II No. 6-ranked Highland, 78-57, at Arnold Arena Wednesday night.

The Greyhounds, who have lost their last seven games, scrapped back from a 25-point deficit to get within 9 with 9:43 left in the game. But the Scotties pulled away again, outscoring Fort Scott 21-8 in the final 7:43.

"I didn't do the post-game talk. I let them do it," Couch said. "And one of the things they asked themselves was, 'How in the world did we get within 9 and then lose the game by 21? We gave that up.' And I think the light went on that it's them -- it's not anything we do."

Early on, it looked as if the 'Hounds (0-5 Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division, 5-11 overall) were too concerned about making mistakes. They found themselves trailing 6-1, then 11-4.

One of the problems Couch said her team had was that they were too concerned defensively with Highland players who aren't normally threats to score. They were coming out to guard them and leaving the scorers open or allowing low-scoring players to get into position to score.

The Scotties (4-1, 16-1), whose only loss came against Johnson County, the top-ranked team in Division II, held the 'Hounds without a field goal for nearly four minutes in boosting the lead to 33-15 with 3:02 left in the half. They scored the last 7 points of the half to go into the locker room ahead 40-19.

Sharnice Lewis gave Highland its largest lead, 50-25, with 15:11 left in the game with a 3-point field goal. But then Fort Scott's defense began to click and the 'Hounds held the Scotties without a field goal for the next 6 1/2 minutes.

In a game that seemed to change pace at a moment's notice, Fort Scott began to slowly rally. Highland fouled often and had the 'Hounds in the one-and-one just four minutes into the half and in the double bonus with 12:35 to go.

Fort Scott was able to make 11 of 16 free throws during it's rally, which began when Jolee Sharp made a pair of them with 14:51 to go.

Erica Smith's only field goal of the night with 9:43 remaining brought Fort Scott to its closest point, 52-43. The 'Hounds were able to stay within 9 for the next couple of minutes.

Erica McKenzie's basket wit 4:35 left brought Fort Scott back within 10 points, 63-53. But Highland scored the next 8 and found themselves up 18 with 2:16 left.

Sharp finished with 24 points for the 'Hounds while Brittany Pearl added 20. Together, they made 21 of 27 free throws. Kathryn Thomas led Highland with 23 points, Lewis added 18 and Jaaron Kassanavoid scored 17. Lewis was 6 of 9 from the field and Kassanavoid finished 8 of 10.

Fort Scott outrebounded Highland 37-28 with Burgandie Lewis bringing down 10 boards. Sharp dished 5 assists and picked up 4 steals.

The 'Hounds shot 36 percent from the field on 15 of 43 while the Scotties shot 51 percent on 28 of 55.

The Greyhounds travel to Neosho County Saturday night.

HIGHLAND: Lee 0-0 0-0 0, Blaser 0-0 0-0 0, Kassanavoid 8-10 1-4 17, Thomas 7-16 8-10 23, Saling 2-7 1-2 7, Shields 2-4 0-0 5, Cole 2-5 0-0 4, S.Lewis 6-9 3-4 18, Lockhart 0-0 2-2 2, Bowser 1-4 0-0 2. TOTALS: 28-55 15-22 78.

FORT SCOTT: Atherton 0-1 0-0 0, Crawford 0-0 0-0 0, Pearl 3-15 11-14 20, Smith 1-3 1-4 3, Bradley 0-0 0-0 0, McKenzie 3-5 0-1 6, Sharp 7-15 10-13 24, B.Lewis 1-3 1-2 3, Arnold 0-1 1-2 1. TOTALS: 15-43 24-36 57.

Halftime: Highland, 41-19.

Three-point field goals: Highland 7-20 (S.Lewis 3-6, Saling 2-7, Thomas 1-3, Shields 1-3, Bowser 0-1), Fort Scott 3-10 (Pearl 3-9, Sharp 0-1).

Total fouls: Highland 26, Fort Scott 16. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: Highland head coach Smith.

Rebounds: Highland 28 (S.Lewis 8), Fort Scott 37 (B.Lewis 10). Assists: Highland 13 (Thomas 4), Fort Scott 7 (Sharp 5). Turnovers: Highland 21, Fort Scott 36. Steals: Highland 18 (S.Lewis 7), Fort Scott 10 (Sharp 4). Blocked shots: Highland 2 (S.Lewis, Bowser), Fort Scott none.