Lady Buffs’ basketball sees lead disappear
For the first 25 minutes of Friday’s basketball game against the Liberty (Colo.) Lady Lancers, the Garden City Lady Buffaloes had continued their momentum from Thursday’s rout of host Coronado at the Cougar Tipoff Gauntlet in Colorado Springs.
Holding a 42-29 advantage over the unbeaten Lancers (2-0 entering the game), the Lady Buffs seemed in control of their battle to move to 2-0 for the young season.
But the Lady Buffs were unable to maintain that momentum and didn’t score in the final seven minutes while being outscored 17-0 in what became a difficult 46-42 setback.
“We’re going to have to learn how to deal with adversity better,” said GCHS head coach Jacob Miller. “We know what we have to work on. We’ve got some things to clean up on our offensive sets.”
The Lady Buffs had taken a 10-7 lead after one quarter and extended it to 27-18 by halftime. A trio of 3-pointers, two by freshman Mia Hannagan and one by junior KJ Pinchon, had helped balance the inside-outside scoring by the Buffs.
But that would be all the long-distance shots the Buffs would knock down as they went without a 3-pointer in the final 16 minutes.
“We’re not playing aggressive enough on offense and attacking the basket,” Miller said. “The girls know the plays and when to execute them, but we’ve got to play more physical and play through contact.”
What transpired in the final seven minutes was a bitter pill to swallow as the Lancers’ junior guard Samira Gantt blitzed the Buffs’ defense for 27 points, including four 3-pointers and 5-of-7 free throws. She was the lone double-figure scorer for Liberty.
Hannagan finished as the Buffs’ top scorer with 14 points, only four of those coming in the second half. KJ Pinchon added 11 points, seven of which were in the first half.
In that final seven-minute drought for the Buffs, the Lancers got 3-pointers twice from Gantt and one from Gracie Green. Amelia Motley hit 6-of-8 free throws for an additional 8 points to help Liberty’s cause.
The Lady Buffs get little recovery time for the third and final game of the Gauntlet.
Saturday’s finale will be at 11 a.m. (MST) against Palmer Ridge High School with the game again at Coronado High School’s gymnasium.
The Lady Buffs will return home to prepare for the annual Roundball Classic, which begins Thrusday at The Garden. The first game will a rematch with Coronado at 6 p.m. They will face Altus, Okla., on Friday and finish with Scott City on Saturday.
———
Coronado Cougar Tipoff Gauntlet
Friday, Dec. 6
at Coronado High School
LIBERTY, COLO. 46, GARDEN CITY 42
Garden City…10…17…11…4…–…42
Liberty, Colo….7…11…11…17…–…46
Garden City (42) — Hannagan 4 4-5 14, Brown 1 1-2 3, McDonald 1 1-1 3, Pinchon 3 4-4 11, Meng 2 0-0 4, Korf 0 2-2 2, Villegas 2 1-2 5. Totals 13 13-16 42.
Liberty (46) — Green 1 0-0 3, MOtley 1 6-8 8, Gantt 9 5-7 27, Hill 3 0-2 6, Wilson 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 11-17 46.
3-point goals–Garden City 3 (Hannagan 2, Pinchon 1); Liberty 5 (Green 1, Gantt 4).
