Lady Buffaloes Falter in Road Loss to Upstart Great Bend
Garden City High School girls basketball team hosted Great Bend High School on Friday, January 5, 2024 at The Garden in Garden City, Kan. The Lady Buffaloes lost to the Panthers 34 - 44. Photo credits; Adam Shrimplin, Shrimplin Photography
GREAT BEND, Kan. – Great Bend has waited a long time for a season like this. The Panthers had gone four years without a road WAC win and seven years without a 12-win season.
Garden City head coach Jacob Miller hopes this can be his team in a few short seasons from now, but as it stands in 2024, it’s Great Bend’s time.
The Panthers continued their best season under head coach Cindy Beck, defeating the Garden City Buffaloes, 50-30 at Great Bend Gymnasium.
“We’ve got seven sophomores and 16 freshmen,” Miller said. “We have two seniors that play and one junior that plays. When you rebuild a program, this is part of the growing pains.”
The Buffaloes scored from all around in the first eight minutes. Miraya Martinez opened the game’s scoring with a 16-foot jumper, Thaylee Powers would hit a triple from the right corner.
Garden City (7-8, 0-4 WAC) trailed, 14-7, to start the second quarter. The Panthers dominated the second, hitting three triples to extend their lead to as large as 18.
Great Bend (11-5, 2-2 WAC) guard Sadie Spray hit the 1000-point mark in her last game and carried that high into Friday. The senior scored 13 first-half points, leading all scorers.
K.J. Pinchon led the Buffaloes with seven points, and started the second half strong. Pinchon twirled for the first bucket out of the break, then banked a three-pointer in to get into double-figures.
Pinchon finished with a team-high 12 points.
Her offense wasn’t enough to keep up with the Panthers’. The hosts moved the ball around brilliantly, assisting on six of their seven makes in the third quarter to pull ahead by as much as 25.
The fourth quarter got the game into a running clock, with the Buffaloes wining the frame.
“We battled, we just battled a little too late,” Miller said. “I’m extremely proud of how our girls never gave up.”
The Lady Buffs begin their final home stand of the season tomorrow, hosting the Hooker (Ok.) Bulldogs. Coverage on 99.9 ‘The Rock’ begins at 4:40 P.M., tip off at 5:00.
Audio Recap
Jacob Miller interview
