Buffs earn sweep in opening round of Hays Shootout
Hays, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-If there was one area of concern for Garden City heading into Thursday night’s season opener in Hays, it was depth. But those concerns were wiped away quickly with a steady performance from the second team.
Jared Koster scored a game-high 17 points, and the Buffalo bench added 17 of their own as Garden City held off Thomas More Prep 57-46 in the first round of the 31st annual Hays Shootout Thursday afternoon at Falcons’ Field House.
“I think we have a better idea about our depth,” Holloway said afterwards. “Our guys played really well for their first time out.”
The Buffaloes (1-0) fell behind early 2-0 on Cameron Fouts layup over Luis Rodriguez. But they never trailed again.
And despite the fact that Holloway’s main gun Caleb Tramp was sitting next to him for most of the first half with two fouls, the reserves steadied the ship. Jesus Reyes scored six points and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field. Erwin Leal and Edgar Aguilar each added four while Jose Acosta dropped in three to spark the bench.
But the main story on opening night was Koster, whose perimeter marksmanship helped Garden City pull away late in the second half.
Following Kameron Schmidt’s bucket that cut the Buffaloes lead to 46-41 with 2:30 remaining, Koster went to work. Akil Love found him in the right corner, and the junior delivered a dagger three over Peyton Hoffman; plus the foul. He hit the ensuing free throw, and Garden City had an eight point lead.
“He (Koster) did a really good job of making shots,” Holloway said. “He was aggressive. There were some turnovers at times that we’re going to have to fix. But he really did have a good game.”
Tramp chipped in nine points and 10 rebounds, but was slowed in the second half after spraining his ankle. He missed a portion of the third quarter before returning in the final frame. Miguel Olivas scored eight points and dished out four assists.
Next up: Semifinals-Garden City vs. Olathe North-Friday, December 5 at 4:45 p.m. on 99.9 FM; kwkrmobile.com and mobile app: KWKR
Lady Buffs face adversity; hang on in final minutes
Hays, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-Rewind back one calendar year. David Upton’s team had just polished off a 46-point win over Thomas More Prep in the opening round of the Hays Shootout. Consider that lineup consisted of two of the program’s top five, all-time leading scorers, multi-sport athlete Taylor Linenberger and defensive specialist Tionnia McKee. Now take that away, and that’s what Garden City took the floor with on opening night. They survived.
Isabel Longoria and Jessica Carrillo each scored 10 points; Breece Dreiling pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, and the Buffaloes held off a furious rally to beat the Lady Monarchs 46-38 in the first round of the 31st annual Hays Shootout at Falcons’ Field House.
“I was pretty happy with the way the girls came out and played, considering there were a lot of new faces,” assistant coach Katie Upton said after the game. “But we have to work on our defensive intensity. That needs to be fixed.”
That was apparent in the second half, when TMP sliced Garden City’s 15-point halftime lead all the down to just two 39-37 thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by Megan Pfeifer and a triple by Megan Koeningsman. The Monarchs even had a chance to tie the game just moments later, but Kaylor Gottschalk bricked two free throws. TMP finished the night just 1-of-6 from the line.
The Buffaloes closed the game on a 7-1 run-sparked by Dart’s foul-line jumper after missed Monarch free throws. Dart finished with seven points but was just 2-of-8 from the floor.
Ashlee Richman added three points, while Joslyn Munoz, Bri Elliott and Alexis Elliott tallied two points apiece.
(Megan) Koeningsman led the way for the Monarchs with 13 points. Gottschalk and Pfeifer delivered eight points each.
Next up: Semifinals-Garden City vs. Newton-Friday, November 5-2:45 p.m. pregame; 3 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; kwkrmobile.com and mobile app: KWKR
