After an opening round loss at the Burlington Invitational Tournament to Independence, the Lady Jays had to regroup and look forward to their next opponent. Sabetha would take on the Paola Panthers on Friday, Feb. 20, in a defensive battle that would come down to free throw shooting with the Jays winning, 32-22.

“Friday night’s game was a tough, gritty, competitive contest. Everything our girls are, and we used that to our advantage holding Paola to 18 percent shooting,” said Head Coach Nate Bauman. “Paola was physical and aggressive and gave us some trouble on the boards, and we did not shoot well most of the night, but we closed out the victory by going 10-13 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.”

The Panthers took the lead in the opening period, 9-5, with seniors Mary Lukert and Halle Scoby adding a bucket early and junior Alexia Hayden dropping a free throw.

Sabetha blanked Paola in the second period, retaking the lead with scoring from seniors Carly Hartter with 4 points on a triple and a free throw, Lukert with 3 points and Jessica Gruber with a bucket. Sabetha led 14-9 at the intermission.

Both teams posted 6 points each in the third frame, therefore, the Lady Jays maintained their skinny lead headed into the period. Sabetha managed just one bucket from the field from Lukert, but she went seven of nine from the stripe for 9 points and it was enough for the Jays to leave the court with a win, 32-22.

“I am, once again, just amazed by our girls resiliency and ability to overcome adversity of all kinds,” Coach Bauman said. “Exactly what we hope high school athletics helps teach our kids.”

Lukert finished the game with a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Gruber had 5 points, and Scoby had 4 points and seven rebounds. With the win on the back side of the bracket, the Bluejays met Labette County in their final contest of the tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21.