Lady Trojans advance to finals

BY NICK CORN

The Lady Trojans played their first game of sub-state action Friday night against the Prairie View Lady Buffalos in Iola. Girard started slow, but a strong second half blew the game open and the Lady Trojans cruised to a 47-31 victory.

Calea Augustin gave Girard a 2-0 lead to start the game before two straight three’s from Prairie View. Buckets from Ashley Ray and Olivia Hanson had the game tied at 6-6 with 3:12 to go in the first. After falling behind by three points, Girard went on a 6-0 run to take a three point lead of their own, but before the buzzer, the Lady Buffalos nailed a runner from behind the line to tie the game 12-12.

Both teams battled back and forth for a few minutes into the second quarter, but a 5-0 run by Prairie View gave them a 22-17 advantage. Girard went into halftime trailing 22-19.

In the third, Ray hit two straight buckets to give Girard the lead, then Prairie View burnt a timeout with 6:39 to go. Prairie View scored a basket after the timeout putting them back on top, but the Lady Trojans would end the third on a 12-0 run.

The Lady Buffalos were the first to get on the board in the fourth, cutting Girard’s lead to nine points. Sydnee Crain responded with a trey that took the wind out of Prairie View’s sails and the Lady Trojans went on to take the victory.

Ashley Ray had a big night for Girard, leading the team with 18 points in the win. Hanson scored 10 followed by Sydnee Crain with 7.

Next up for Girard is a meeting with the Iola Fillies in the sub-state championship. The game will be played at 6:00 on Saturday for a chance to play at the 4A-II State Tournament.

The teams met up for Girard’s first game of the season, and it was Iola who took a 40-35 win.

BOX SCORE

GHS         12    7    16    12    FINAL  47

PVHS      12   10    2      7                  31

GIRARD: Ray 18, Hanson 10, Crain 7, Augustin 5, Murphy 4, Leslie 2, Herlocker 1

3-PT FG: Crain 1