Buffaloes go cold late; fall to Andover Central
Newton, KS-Garden City Coach Matt Pfeifer said his team was out hustled and out executed in their loss to fourth-ranked Bishop Carroll on Thursday.
“It was just a bad night from the start,” he said.
Less than 24 hours later, the second-year coach got his message across. But as they’ve done so often this season, the Buffaloes went silent at the most inopportune time.
Playing without their star player, Ryann Stearns, who injured her leg in Thursday’s loss to Newton, the Jaguars turned to freshman Jaden Newfarmer, who delivered a season-high 18 points and 10 rebounds, Ashtyn Brown totaled 13, and No. 7 Andover Central beat Garden City 54-46 in the consolation semifinals of the 2018 Newton Invitational at Ravenscroft Gymnasium on Friday afternoon. The loss drops the Buffaloes into the seventh-place game on Saturday.
“It was a much better effort than yesterday,” Pfeifer said. “We made some big plays. We ran our offense; we just did it better.”
It was another slow start though for Garden City (4-8, 0-3), who found themselves down 22-12 three minutes into the second quarter. That’s when the light switch turned on.
Beth Guymon hit a runner inside the paint; then followed that with a 3, Josie Calzonetti splashed home four free throws, Keyhana Turner, who poured in a season-best 11 points, hit a layup, and Guymon nailed another 3-pointer from the right wing that put the Buffaloes on top 26-25 with 1:00 to go in the second.
“They played with much more confidence and pace in this one,” Pfeifer said. “Other girls stepped up today.”
Calzonetti capped off a wild second quarter with a driving layup with 20 seconds to go, finishing off an 11-0 surge that gave Garden City a three-point edge at the half.
“We were aggressive, and it showed in our productivity” Pfeifer said.
In the second half, neither team gained much of an edge. There were seven lead changes and four ties over the final 16 minutes. But after Garden City took a three-point advantage with 2:28 to go in the third, Bailey Wilborn drilled a triple from the left wing to knot the score. Then, following Guymon’s two free throws that put the Buffaloes back on top, Brown swished a triple from the top of the key with 10 seconds remaining in the period, and Andover Central (8-4, 5-1) had a 40-39 lead going into the fourth.
“Even though we lost, these girls gained a lot of confidence from this game,” Pfeifer said. “We just have to put two games together.”
Turner’s diagonal drive and finish to start the fourth, gave the Buffaloes their final lead of the day, 41-40. But with the game tied at 44, Garden City went silent. Wilborn scored five straight for the Jaguars, including a dagger 3-pointer, and Andover Central put the game away with a 12-2 run.
“We just couldn’t hit shots when we needed to,” Pfeifer said. “But give these girls credit, they came back, and hung with a really good team.”
Wilborn finished with 11 points for the Jaguars, who snapped a three-game skid and in the process improved to 5-0 lifetime vs. Garden City. Lauren Wolf grabbed seven rebounds.
Calzonetti scored in double figures for the 12th time this season, notching a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds for Garden City. Guymon added 14, and Turner had 11 points and five boards.
Next up: Garden City vs. Dodge City-12:45 p.m. pregame; 1 p.m. tip on 94.5 FM; westernkansasnwes.com/mix94 and KSKL mobile app
