Lady Beavers outlast Buhler

Buhler, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Scott City hit the road on Tuesday night in sub-state play, as they took on the Buhler Lady Crusaders in their first-ever meeting between the schools. While the Lady Beavers have struggled from behind the three-point arc at times this year, they didn’t let that deter them from taking their shots from downtown. 

Scott City would hit a season-high 10 triples to help them advance to Friday’s sub-state championship round with a 60-47 win over the Lady Crusaders at Buhler High School.

The opening period would see the lead go back and forth, with seven lead changes and two ties. It would be the Lady Beavers who would take a 16-14 lead in to the second frame. Scott City would lead by five early in the second period, when Buhler scored five straight to tie the game at 19 with 5:41 left before the break. The Lady Crusaders went on a five-minute drought, and the Lady Beavers took advantage. They closed out the half on a 9-2 run to lead 28-21 at the break. 

In the second half, Scott City (11-10) pushed their lead to 32-21 in the first 90 seconds of the third. Buhler would find ways to get back in to the game, as they would get to within seven points, with the last being at 37-30 with 2:36 left in the third quarter. The Lady Beavers would respond with six of the final nine points to lead 43-33. Scott City opened the fourth quarter with a pair of three’s to lead 49-33 with 5:46 left. However, Buhler (11-10) wasn’t done. A 10-2 run pulled them to within 51-43 with 2:37 left, and they would also get to within 53-45 at the 2:04 mark of the game. The Lady Beavers hit their free throws down the stretch, and advanced on to the next round with a 60-47 win.

Erika Felker would lead Scott City with a season-high 21 points, while Kendall Gentry added 14. The Lady Beavers finished with 18 turnovers and were 16-22 from the foul line, including going 11-14 in the final frame. Buhler got a team-high 20 points from Natalya Krafels, as they were 6-8 from the line and had 25 turnovers.

With the win, Scott City picked up their first postseason win since 2021, and will play in their first sub-state game since 2020. They also beat an Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League school for the first time since January of 1994, when they defeated McPherson in the Newton Invitational Tournament. It was their first matchup against the AVCTL since 2017, when they fell to Andale in the third place game in the Class 4A, Division II State Tournament.

Scott City 16 12 15 17–60
Buhler      14  7  12 14–47

Scott City (11-10): Gentry 4 4-6 14; E. Felker 4 9-10 21; Metzger 1 1-2 3; Irvin 0 0-0 0; Lewis 3 0-0 8; Cramer 2 1-2 7; K. Felker 0 0-0 0; Trout 3 1-2 7; Team: 17 16-22 60
Buhler (11-10): Horne 1 0-0 3; Tustan 0 2-2 2; Krafels 8 3-4 20; Brooks 0 0-0 0; Taylor 4 0-0 9; Miller 0 0-0; Siemens 1 0-0 3; Baxter 2 0-1 5; Oard 1 0-0 2; Stallman 1 1-1 3; Team: 18 6-8 47

Three-Point Goals: Scott City 10 (E. Felker 4, Gentry 2, Lewis 2, Cramer 2); Buhler 5 (Horne 1, Krafels 1, Taylor 1, Siemens 1, Baxter 1); Turnovers: Scott City 18, Buhler 25; Fouls: Scott City 9, Buhler 17; Fouled Out: None.

Audio Recap

Amy Felker Postgame

Up next for Scott City is the sub-state championship game at Wellington Friday evening. The Lady Crusaders are 20-1 after they defeated Ulysses 43-12 on Tuesday night at home.