Category: Turner Area

by Brian Turrel

The Bonner Springs Lady Braves defeated Turner High School 51-29 Friday night in Bonner Springs.

Bonner used accurate entry passes to get layups and short jumpers inside for Hallie Hoffine and Kim Whetstone. On the other end of the court, Turner was not able to get its offense going, passing the ball around the perimeter, but limited by Bonner’s defense from getting inside effectively.

The Lady Braves held the advantage from the start, running out to a 17-8 first quarter lead, and extending it to 30-13 by halftime. With the outcome decided, both coaches looked to build bench experience by substituting generously at the end.

Hoffine led Bonner Springs with 17 points, followed by Whetstone with 15. Turner got 11 points from Lanita McDonald. Three of her four made baskets were from outside the arc. Junior reserve Lillian Hamilton came on in the fourth quarter for Turner and posted 7 points in those limited minutes.

The teams are now tied at 3-4 in the Kaw Valley League standings. The Lady Bears will play next against Bishop Ward on Tuesday at Kansas City Kansas Community College. Bonner Springs will head to Piper on Friday to take on the undefeated Lady Pirates.

by Brian Turrel

The Turner Golden Bears had trouble containing Bonner Springs junior guard Keyon Thomas. The speedy Bonner junior scored 36 in an 82-69 home win on Friday night.

The Braves ran a motion offense to open driving lanes for Thomas, who usually finished his drives at the rim, but kicked back to his open teammates if the defense closed the gap in time. The Braves also used takeaways to feed Thomas, finding him outpacing the defense in transition.

The Braves held the court in the first half, limiting the Bears’ access to the lane and turning defensive disruptions into fast breaks. Bonner Springs was up 40-22 at halftime.

Turner battled back in the second half, pushing the tempo on their offense and finding more opportunities for Fred Poe and Jaylin Richardson. They cut the Braves’ lead to single digits in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t find enough defensive stops to get closer.

In addition to Thomas’s 36 points, A.J. Watson contributed 15, and Cole Oakes had 9. For Turner, Ty Gilmore led the scoring with 19, followed by Richardson with 18 and Donald Rollen with 12, including two three-pointers.

Bonner Springs remains undefeated in the Kaw Valley League at 7-0 (14-1 overall), 1 1/2 games ahead of second place Basehor-Linwood. They will play next at Piper High School at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9. Turner drops to 3-4 in the league (5-9 overall) and will play Bishop Ward High School at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on Ward’s home court at Kansas City Kansas Community College.