High-rated Eagles outrun Chase

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

IMPERIAL, Neb. -- Wray, Colo., outscore Chase County 33-19 in the second half to defeat the Lady Longhorns 64-56 Tuesday night in Imperial.

Coming into Tuesday’s contest with an 11-3 record, Wray, the No. 2 ranked team in Colorado’s Class 2A, found itself trailing at halftime.

Chase County broke through Wray’s press defense to 19 first quarter points, then added 18 more in the second stanza to take a 37-31 lead into intermission.

The Lady Longhorns’ best stretch came after Wray held a 19-16 lead late in the first quarter. Using hot outside shooting from Mallie McNair and Lauren Gockley, Chase County went on a 14-0 run to grab a 30-19 advantage.

Wray, however, would come out of the break with a slower pace and utilized its height. The Lady Eagles took the lead back at 42-41 in the third quarter and never looked back.

An Andrea Page field goal cut the Chase County deficit to 60-56 with 0:57 left in the fourth quarter, but Wray would ice the game with four free throws down the final stretch.

After shooting 55 percent (4-of-7) from behind the arc in the first half, the Lady Longhorns finished the night 35 percent (8-of-23) on 3-point attempts.

Both teams shot 45 percent from the field, but Wray held a key advantage in free throws -- 17-of-29 compared to Chase County’s 8-of-11 -- which helped spur the second half comeback.

Wray (12-3 record) had four players in double figures and got a combined 30 points from its two key post players. 6-foot-1 junior Morgan Smith had a game-high 17 points, while 6-2 senior Peyton Pecar had 13.

Peyton Pecar added 14, while Paige Brown scored 12.

Chase County (12-8) had three players in double figures led by McNair’s 16 points. Gockley added 11, while Reagan Nickless scored 10. Sophy Spady was next in line with seven points for the Lady Longhorns.

Chase County will travel to take on North Platte St. Patrick’s on Friday. The state-rated Lady Irish beat the Lady Longhorns in the South Platte Valley Association tournament on Jan. 18.

Scoring leaders

Wray: Smith 17, Pecar 14, Soehner 13, Brown 12, Danforth 8.

Chase: McNair, 16; Gockley, 11; Nickless, 10; Spady, 7; Owings, 4; Page, 4; Brown, 2; Bubak, 2.

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