Kansas Holds Off Prague in 3A State Semifinals

Originally Published: Mar 11, 2011 3:31 PM CDT

Layna Dewell
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY— The defending state champion Kansas Lady Comets outlasted the Prague Lady Red Devils to advance to its second state championship game in two years.

In a game between the No. 2 and No. 3 ranked teams, Kansas held the upper hand most of the game.

Both teams began the game with turnovers, and the first basket of the game didn’t come until the 6:05 mark when Kansas sophomore Heather Marshall hit a fall away jumper to make it 2-0.

Prague scored with 4:10 left in the frame on a pair of free throws by junior Heather Farrill and by then it was 7-2.

Kansas guard Kelsey Barnwell and Courtney Cowan combined for 10 points in the first quarter.

Kansas built a lead in the first and by the end of the quarter led 17-8.

The Lady Red Devils outscored the Comets in the second frame 18-16 thanks five players scoring three or more points a piece.

At intermission, Kansas held a 33-26 advantage and Barnwell scored 13 of those points while Shay Flanagan tallied 10. The Lady Red Devils were paced by Hilary Dixon with six points.

As the second half began, Brooke Watkins got hot for the Red Devils to effort toward a comeback.

But her efforts weren’t enough to keep up with Barnwell and the Comets.

Barnwell added seven points in the third as well as seven in the fourth to outscore the Lady Devils 27-26 in the second half.

In the third quarter, Kansas led by as many as 13 points, which Prague cut to five, but couldn’t get any closer.

In the end, Kansas walked away with the 60-52 win.

Barnwell led al scorers with 27 points and was helped by fellow junior Cowan who tallied 18.

The Red Devils were paced by Watkins who scored 14 on eight-of-nine shooting from the free throw line. Dixon added 12 and Alex Tilton 11 points. Prague rounds out the season at 26-2.

Coach Odle and the Comets will play for a back-to-back state championship title Saturday at 12:15 p.m. at the State Fairgrounds Arena.

For more on tis 3A semifinals game, check out the CoachesAid.com Semifinal Recap.