ABOVe: Londyn Bowers drives to the basket going for a layup in a Tomahawk Valley Conference, Valley Division game against Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons Friday night in Granada

GRANADA — The Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther Jaguars’ dominant performance in a Friday night Tomahawk-Valley Conference, Valley Division girls basketball game secured a 69-47 victory over the Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons Knights.

Leading the Jaguars (2-3) was Londyn Bowers with 28 points, five rebounds, four steals and five blocks, while Keira Benck had 17 points, two rebounds and three steals. Addison Nowicki had 5 points, a rebound, an assist and a steal while, Kayla Mattson added 3 points and three steals.

“It looks like we didn’t have as many turnovers as we’ve had the last few games,” said Jaguars head girls basketball coach TJ Pytleski. “So if we continue to … not turn the ball over and give the other teams a lot more opportunities than we get, that’s one of the things we really need to continue to focus on, is cutting down our turnovers.”

Defensively, the Jaguars were very successful in shutting down the passing lanes and forcing mistakes by pressing early. Offensively, they maintained control, were able to find the openings on the court and had success shooting from outside the arc.

“You just keep practicing and you just keep shooting,” said Pytleski. “So we got the girls that can shoot 3-pointers. You know, it’s just, if they go in or not, if you’re hot or not, and tonight we happened to be on. So it really worked to our advantage and, hopefully, we continue that going forward.”

The Jaguars fell behind by 3 early, but their zone defense became problematic for the Knights, who allowed the Jaguars to tie things up at 8-8. The teams battled back and forth for the lead, ultimately winding up tied again at 11-11 with 14 minutes left in the half.

A 9-0 run, fueled by Chase, Geisfteld and Bowers, put the Jagurs up 20-11. The Jaguars’ defense continued disrupting the passing lanes and not allowing any uncontested shots, extending the lead to 14 with a score 34-18 heading into the final three minutes of the half. A late rally by the Knights cut into the Jaguars lead and ended the half with 34-26 score.

Opening the second half was more of the same as the Jaguars continued to build on their lead despite the Knights doing everything they could to get back in the game. With just over 10 minutes left on the clock the Jaguars were up 45-36. Moments later, a long 3-pointer from Benck started a 10-0 run that put the Jaguars up 61-39 with five minutes left in the game. The final minutes of the game became about clock management as the Knights began to hit their shots. The Knights were only able to put up 7 late points, however, as the Jaguars kept them at bay for the win.

The Jaguars head to Madelia for their next game at 7 p.m. on Thursday.