'Hound women finish strong

Fort Scott's Kamiron Luptak (10) tries to distract Tiara Bouvia of the Friends University junior varsity during first-half play at Arnold Arena Friday night. The Greyhounds defeated the Falcons, 77-66, by holding Friends to 30-percent field-goal shooting. (Scott Nuzum/Tribune)

In Wednesday's night's loss to Hesston, Fort Scott Community College's women saw the momentum fade away in the second half of what ended up being a 9-point loss after holding a 17-point halftime lead.

The second half of Friday night's game against the Friends University junior varsity started in an eerily similar fashion as the Greyhounds struggled while the Falcons began to make some headway.

Unlike Wednesday night, the 'Hounds eventually got their groove back and were able to keep the Falcons at bay, 77-66. Fort Scott improved to 7-2 on the season, matching the start of teams from the 2000-01 and 2006-07 seasons. Both of those teams finished with at least 20 victories.

Fort Scott faces Cottey College this afternoon at 4 p.m. on the second day of the Gladbach Classic at Arnold Arena. The Comets (4-1) defeated Neosho County (5-3) by a 57-51 score in Friday's first game as Linsey Denney scored 22 points.

The Greyhounds took advantage of sloppy ballhandling by the Falcons midway through the first half to keep ahead. Fort Scott went into the locker room with a 32-21 on 7-of-8 free-throw shooting in the final 2:16.

Friends got within 8 points a couple of times early in the second half, the second time at 43-35. The 'Hounds were having trouble handling the ball and forwards Baylea White and Carlie Wilhelmi were in foul trouble.

Reserve post Jessica McAdams sparked a run when she took a Sierra Shoulders pass in for a layup with 12:26 remaining. The 13-6 run ended with a Shoulders three-pointer from the top of the key. Fort Scott's lead was 56-41 and Friends wasn't able to cut into the lead again until it was too late.

Andrea Valadez led Fort Scott with 15 points followed by Shoulders with 10. Taylor Williams had a double-double for Friends with 26 points and 12 rebounds.

FRIENDS JV: Williams 8-17 7-11 26, Bouvia 0-1 0-2 0, Campbell 1-6 0-0 3, Grant 3-9 0-0 6, Harris 1-5 8-10 10, Ford 0-0 3-5 3, Burnham 2-4 5-10 9, Wilson 1-2 0-0 2, Quioz 1-5 0-0 3, Wyble 0-8 4-8 4. TOTALS: 17-57 27-46 66.

FORT SCOTT: Copeland 0-0 0-0 0, Luptak 0-2 9-10 9, Shoulders 3-5 3-6 10, McGuire 0-2 1-2 1, Haggard 1-5 0-0 3, White 3-5 0-0 6, Cicero 1-5 5-6 7, Thorp 2-4 1-1 5, Valadez 5-12 3-4 15, Cole 2-2 0-0 4, McAdams 4-6 1-1 9, Wilhelmi 3-8 2-2 8. TOTALS: 24-56 25-32 77.

Halftime: Fort Scott, 32-21.

Three-point field goals: Friends JV 5-22 (Williams 3-5, Campbell 1-3, Quioz 1-5, Wilson 0-1, Grant 0-3, Wyble 0-5), Fort Scott 4-15 (Valadez 2-4, Shoulders 1-3, Haggard 1-3, Cicero 0-1, Luptak 0-2, McGuire 0-2).

Total fouls: Friends JV 27, Fort Scott 29. Fouled out: None.

Rebounds: Friends JV 31 (Williams 12), Fort Scott 43 (Wilhelmi 9). Assists: Friends JV 4 (4 with 1 each), Fort Scott 12 (Shoulders 4, Valadez 4). Turnovers: Friends JV 26, Fort Scott 27. Steals: Friends JV 14 (3 with 3 each), Fort Scott 8 (3 with 2 each). Blocked shots: Friends JV 4 (Burnham 3), Fort Scott none.