Blemish-free through four games, the Chanute Blue Comets girls whooped Arkansas City on Friday night, 61-26.
Despite the 35-point margin, Chanute head coach Dustin Fox was measured after the final horn.
“We played hard, but I don’t know we played particularly well at times,” Fox said. “I was proud of the consistent effort. When you play that hard, you’re able to overcome some sloppy play.”
Chanute shot 43.8% from the field while limiting Arkansas City to 23.1%.
Forty points of Chanute’s 61 came off 41 Arkansas City turnovers.
Chanute’s win over Arkansas City served as dessert to Tuesday’s upset of state-ranked Baldwin.
“We really wanted to build on the toughness we showed in that game,” Fox said. “We outrebounded Baldwin and we didn’t do well on the glass tonight. We forced enough turnovers and hit enough shots to make up for it. Now we’ve got to stay focused on the moment at hand. Baldwin was an emotional high. We’ve got two big games against good teams next week. So it’s human nature to have a bit of a letdown. But we’ve got to be mentally tough enough.”
Sarah Uhner led the Blue Comets with a dozen points while Brynna Peter added 10 points.
Thirteen players appeared for Chanute with 11 registering points.
“We have a lot of kids who can step up and make plays for us,” Fox said. “We played 13 kids and 11 scored. We have kids that can put the ball in the basket. We don’t rely on one person to have a big game. We have lots of kids that can score. Defensively, everybody can play hard and make plays for us.”
Up next
Chanute hopes to play the role of coal in the stockings of a pair of state-ranked teams this week as the Blue Comets hit the road to face Girard and Fort Scott on Tuesday and Friday, respectively.
“Girard has some really good players that can knock down shots,” Fox said. “We’ll have to really get out and guard. Rebounding will be big for us.”
Friday’s game will serve as the SEK League opener for the Blue Comets.
“It’s a great litmus test for us to find out exactly where we’re at,” Fox said. “We have to figure out what we need to do to compete for a league title. Our girls like to compete.”
