Lady Buffaloes Vanquished by Liberal
Garden City High School girls basketball team hosted Hays High School on Friday, January 12, 2024 at The Garden in Garden City, Kan. The Lady Buffaloes lost to the Indians 26 - 57. Photo credits; Adam Shrimplin, Shrimplin Photography
GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Garden City had suffered its largest loss in two seasons just 72 hours before Tuesday night’s tipoff. The rest of a weekend off and a hearty practice on Monday put the team in good spirits going into another Western Athletic Conference matchup.
The refreshed play wasn’t quite there, however.
The Garden City Lady Buffaloes suffered a tough setback against the Liberal Lady Red, 64-28, at The Garden. Garden City is now 2-5 against teams over the .500 mark this season.
Garden City (7-8, 0-4 WAC) struggled to break down Liberal’s early press. The Buffaloes committed four turnovers before taking its first shot, including an early 10-second violation.
“I just saw a lack of confidence, which is something we’re trying to grow on,” head coach Jacob Miller said afterwards.
GCHS turned it over 19 times in the first half, trailing 10-3 after the first.
Liberal’s (11-4, 2-1 WAC) Shamari Lewis stood head and shoulders above the rest. The sophomore had eight of her team’s first 10, then scored 10 points in the second quarter.
“She was more physical [than us] tonight,” Miller admitted. “She attacked, she was aggressive. For a sophomore, that’s pretty impressive.”
Lewis would finish with a game-high 26 points in the victory.
The Buffaloes responded where they could, swishing six three pointers in the defeat. Junior Hailey Brown hit a pair in the even quarters. Kaylee McDonald, K.J. Pinchon, Miraya Martinez, and Myah Korf also added triples.
“We try and build our offense around three-pointers,” Miller said. “I thought once we got in the halfcourt, we executed pretty well.”
The loss means Garden City ends its joint-longest home stretch with a record of one win and two losses. GCHS loses out on an opportunity to move up to seventh place in 6A West.
Liberal has now won its last five games, remaining in the top four in the conference.
The Lady Buffs continue WAC play on Friday against the Great Bend High School Panthers. Coverage begins on 99.9 ‘The Rock’, Friday night at 5:40 P.M.
Audio Recap
Jacob Miller interview
