Senior Night Delight: Carr’s Three-Pointer Lifts Lady Buffs Over Dodge City

GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Kamdyn Carr has checked off nearly everything a student-athlete could at Garden City.

Three-sport athlete? Yes. National Honor Society member? Check. Part of the Western Athletic Conference Leadership team? Can’t miss that one.

The one piece that was missing was a basketball win over Dodge City. When the ball fell to her late in the fourth quarter Tuesday night, Carr did what she’s done best for the last four years; perform for the Buffaloes.

It was a special moment from Carr, who hit the go-ahead three-pointer on Senior Night, leading the Garden City Lady Buffaloes to a 35-31 victory over the Dodge City Lady Demons. The win was GCHS’ first win over Dodge City since February 12th, 2019.

“It was a blur to me, honestly,” Carr said. “I just stuck to my form, and stuck to what I know, and I banked it.”

Carr was one of four senior student-athletes honored at The Garden on Tuesday, along with Miraya Martinez, Alexa Escobedo, and Amya Basilio.

She started Senior Night strong, chipping in with Sophomore K.J. Pinchon to pull the Buffaloes out to a 10-1 start. Carr scored seven points in the first half, including a perfect five-for-five from the free throw line.

“Offensive rebounds were really working, because I was getting fouled every time,” Carr said.

Garden City’s (9-9, 1-5 WAC) first-half defense was a masterpiece. The Buffaloes held the Lady Demons scoreless for the final 7:42 of the first quarter and didn’t allow a field goal until the early second quarter.

Pinchon would hit three-pointers on either side of halftime to stretch the lead to as large as 13. The forward led the Buffaloes in scoring with 15 points.

“We knew that our defense pulls our offense, and they came out ready to go,” Jacob Miller, Lady Buffs’ head coach, said following the win. “Second quarter, we let that lapse a little bit. We got comfortable, and you can never get comfortable in high school basketball.”

Dodge City (5-12, 1-4 WAC) turned it on in the middle of the third quarter, eventually taking their second lead of the night, 28-27, late in the third period. Dodge would lead by as much as two in the fourth, getting a go-ahead layup by Easha Potts.

Miller admitted that his teams before might not have been able to respond to the shift in momentum. The Buffaloes went over 5:00 without scoring in the fourth quarter, yet rose to the challenge in the end.

Garden City would score the final six points of the game. Carr’s three-pointer gave GCHS the lead, 32-31, and then underclassmen Alexiz Villegas and Myah Korf would combine for three free throws to ice it.

The togetherness of this Buffaloes group has been enjoyable to watch, including the coaching staff. Miller has supported his group since day one of the season, all the way to game 18. His reaction to Carr’s three made the night worth it.

“That’s what seniors do… I was right behind her, as soon as she let it go, my hand went up with her,” Miller said. “Kam’s our nucleus of what we do. She’s not only a phenomenal basketball player but a great human. It couldn’t have happened to a better girl.”

The Buffaloes held seventh place in 6A West with the win, in a position to host a sub-state semifinal game for the first time in five seasons.

Garden City begins its final road stretch of the season on Friday in Hays against the Indians. Coverage on 99.9 ‘The Rock’ begins at 5:40 P.M., tipoff at 6:00.

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