No. 3 Rural girls fall to top-ranked Raiders in Thunderbird Classic semi, 47-37
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- Created: Friday, 27 January 2023 05:45

By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural girls basketball coach Kevin Bordewick didn't really have any complaints with his team's defensive performance in Friday night's Thunderbird Classic semifinal.
It was on offense where the No. 3-ranked (Class 6A) Junior Blues struggled, shooting 24.3 percent from the field and turning the ball over 23 times in a 47-37 loss to undefeated and top-ranked (6A) Shawnee Mission South at Shawnee Heights.
Brooklyn DeLeye (middle) scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Washburn Rural's 47-37 loss to top-ranked Shawnee Mission South Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior MaRyah Lutz (5), who scored nine points, drives to the basket in Friday's 47-37 Washburn Rural loss to No. 1-ranked Shawnee Mission South. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"We were turning the ball over at a remarkable rate,'' Bordewick said. "I thought our defense was really good and we worked so hard to get the ball and then would just give it back.
"Some of their turnovers were because of their pressure but some were just self-inflicted.''
Washburn Rural, which had its six-game winning streak snapped, held Shawnee Mission South to 17 first-half points and didn't allow the Raiders to get out of the 30s until there was just 1:25 left to play.
But the 8-3 Junior Blues managed just nine field goals on the night, including zero in the second quarter, and struggled against the South press most of the night.
Shawnee Mission South and Rural were tied at 9 at the end of the first quarter and the Raiders allowed just three Rural free throws in the second quarter while going up 17-12.