Comanche plays Washington tough, but Warriors prevail

The Comanche Lady Indians welcomed the No. 1 team in Class 3A and stayed within striking distance for three quarters before Washington pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 54-36 win on Tuesday night.
The Lady Indians (3-9) held the Lady Warriors (11-1)eight points below their season average and forced Washington to keep their starters deep into the fourth quarter.
"The girls have played really well since Christmas break and I really feel like since then we've had good practices," said Braydon Robinson, Comanche head coach. "We played really well last week and this week. Our main game plan is to try to limit them to one shot, make plays on defense and then make sure we don't turn it over on offense."
Washington scored 13 points in the first four minutes before Comanche got settled in on defense and limited the Lady Warriors to six points in the final four minutes.
After trailing 19-5 after the first quarter, the Lady Indians got their offense going in the second as they kept pace in the second quarter. Jentry Whaley hit one of her four three-pointers in the quarter and Jaylee Roebuck hit another one at the buzzer to cut the lead to 31-17.
Comanche got as close as 38-28 in the third quarter on a bucket by Raelee Ellis with 44 seconds left in the quarter before Washington took a 42-31 lead into the final quarter.
The Lady Warriors opened up the fourth on a small run and it would be all they would need to put the game away.
Even with a loss, the coach thinks it was good for the team's confidence.
"Our goal every single game is played 32 minutes to get better," Robinson said. "Today's game goes a long way on our confidence level and playing with other people."
Whaley's 12 points led Comanche with Ellis second on the team with seven points. They were followed by Roebuck with five, Jillian Hushbeck with four, Cassidy Smith with three, Caity Ramsey with two, Drai Sparks with two and Cianna O'Connor with one.
Warriors 70
Indians 45
Much like the girls' game before, the Indians stayed close with the Warriors until the fourth quarter when the visitors went on a run to pull away for the win.
There were two lead changes and a tie in the first quarter before Washington, ranked No. 8 in Class 3A, closed out the quarter on an 8-2 run to take a 19-13 lead into the second quarter.
Comanche (3-8) would fight back in the second, tying the game twice before the Warriors (9-3) once again closed out the quarter on a run to take a 33-29 halftime lead.
After the Indians cut the lead to 33-31 on a bucket by Jiovanni Demry to open the third, Washington went on a 9-0 run to push the lead to double digits. Comanche would not get closer than eight points for the rest of the game. Washington took a 50-42 lead into the final quarter.
Demry led Comanche with 15 points, followed by Colby Shannon with eight, Kruz Lile with four, Easton Bowen, with four, Cooper Epperson with four, Payton Jones with four, T.C. Lindsey with three and Bryson Goedhart with three.