Falcons fluster four-time state champion Bruins

The Rock Bridge girls basketball team has struck fear into opponents on both sides of the state line for the last four seasons.

The Bruins churned out a handful of Division I players, including a few All-Americans, and won four consecutive Missouri Class 5 state titles.

Olathe South dealt a decisive blow to the Bruins’ scary reputation Thursday night in a 57-31 rout at Avila University in the HyVee Shootout.

“It’s a great win, and we worked hard for it,” Falcons senior forward DeJanae Roebuck said.

Olathe South raced out to an early lead and held a 10-2 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The lead only grew from there, ballooning to 31 before settling back down in the fourth quarter. The Falcons held the Bruins to single digits in three of the four quarters.

Olathe South’s biggest advantage this early in the season is their experience, having lost only one starter from last year’s squad. It showed most in transition with 13 of the Falcons’ 22 goals coming on assists. They also had a 30-14 rebounding advantage and picked up eight steals.

“We know how to play together and know what we are going to do, so it makes it easier,” Roebuck said. “We are really quick this year.”

Roebuck led the Falcons with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kacey Kennett matched her effort with 15 points, and Kala Holder added 10.

Lawrence 62, Lee’s Summit West 59

The Lawrence High Chesty Lions have come to expect a tough matchup in the HyVee Shootout.

They played Barstow to triple overtime in 2014 and escaped with a 62-59 victory against Lee’s Summit West despite trailing by 10 points at halftime this time around.

“We were composed because we’ve been here in almost the exact same situation,” senior forward Fred Brou said. “They were really good competition, but we held on just enough.”

Lawrence used a 17-4 run in the third quarter to take the lead and hung on through two ties in the fourth. They shot 56 percent from the field in the second half.

The Chesty Lions presented a balanced attack with three scorers reaching double digits. Anthony Harvey Jr. led the group with 18 points, Justin Roberts followed with 14 and Price Morgan added 12.

Brou received one of the tournament’s two HyVee Shootout scholarships. The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to one senior boy and one senior girl based on academics, athletics, sportsmanship and positive influence in the community.

Liberty 77, Shawnee Mission South 57

To make up for their size disadvantage in the paint, the Liberty boys basketball team went into Thursday night’s game prepared to turn to its guards.

They did their part, hitting 14 three-pointers and shooting 46.7 percent from beyond the arc in a 77-57 victory against Shawnee Mission South.

Mason Stirtz and Craig Straws led the way with three each and Jalen Lewis added two. Clayton Adams had a team-best 12 points, which included a 5-for-7 performance from the field.

Liberty North 71, Washington 56

The Liberty North boys basketball team kept Washington at arms’ length with some bold coaching from Chris McCabe and held on for 71-56 victory in the nightcap.

McCabe switched to a 3-2 defense to counter a third-quarter run by the Wildcats and his Eagles ended up outscoring Washington 22-15 in that quarter. They pushed their lead to 21 in the fourth and survived a late rally.

Michael Hughes led the Eagles with 19 points and a game-high seven field goals. Joe Barry and Garrett Burns joined him in double figures with 11.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 8:58 PM with the headline "Falcons fluster four-time state champion Bruins."