Pittsburg girls basketball has shown a capacity to play strong defense throughout the season and the Purple Dragons displayed it Friday night by holding Coffeyville to 14 points after three quarters, including two in the second quarter, on the way to a 44-29 victory in Southeast Kansas League play.
The Dragons held Chanute to no points in the first quarter back on Jan. 9.
The Dragons avenged their 54-45 loss to Coffeyville to open league play back on Dec. 16. They are a different Purple Dragon team nearly two months later and improved to 11-7 overall and 5-2 SEK by winning their fifth straight league game.
"Our girls really took to our scout for three days," Pittsburg girls coach Tristan Gegg said. "They followed through it and executed very well. We've came a long way since Christmas break and I know that I've reiterated that a ton and it showed tonight.
"That's what I told them, 1-0 every single night and you guys have a chance to battle for a SEK title if you just keep winning and if some other things fall into place. The seniors, none of them have been close to a SEK title since they've been in school here. So, I told them they can do something special if they really wanted to and tonight, they really wanted it and you could tell."
Pittsburg returns to action on the road Tuesday night against Class 4A state-ranked Independence. The Bulldogs are 13-2 overall and unbeaten in SEK play at 7-0, including a 49-45 win over Pittsburg back on Dec. 19 in Pittsburg.
Adessah Reed and McKenzie English led the Dragons against Coffeyville with 11 and 10 points, respectively, and Sophia Hertrich finished with eight points. Adalee Gober also had six points.
Onna Jorge may have finished with only two points in the game, but she won homecoming queen honors between games for a moment that she will remember and cherish for the rest of her life.
"Yes, she's been working hard, giving out cookies and printing out huge signs," Gegg said. "No, she deserves it, she's a great kid who has a lot of friends. Just a good leader for our team."
The Dragons led Coffeyville 40-14 after three quarters, thanks largely to 14-2 and 18-6 advantages in the second and third quarters. Key Coffeyville players Kaylin Caron, Erin Lopez and Jessica Zimmerman were all saddled with foul trouble in the first half, each player called for three personal fouls.
Dragon players like Angie Miller and Gober took turns guarding Caron all 94 feet of the floor, while Coffeyville double-teamed English all night since English scorched the Golden Tornado for 25 during their first meeting in December.
The Dragons displayed a deeper team with seven players finding the scoring column; meanwhile, Caron and Lopez combined for 26 of Coffeyville's 29 points.
Asiyana Hutchinson scored all four of the Dragons' points in the fourth.
COFFEYVILLE (29) — Kaylin Caron 15, Erin Lopez 11, Leah Tatman 2, Atina Colbert 1.
PITTSBURG (44) — Adessah Reed 11, Onna Jorge 2, Adalee Gober 6, Sophia Hertrich 8, Angie Miller 3, McKenzie English 10, Asiyana Hutchinson 4.
Coffeyville 6 2 6 15 — 29
Pittsburg 8 14 18 4 — 44
3-point goals: Caron, Gober 2, English.
This sports reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/fund/support-local-journalism-project-fund/
