Calzonetti sparks Lady Buffs comeback; boys fall in Guymon
Listen to the complete game in our archive section
Guymon, OK (westernkansasnews.com)-Josie Calzonetti had been in and out of the starting rotation all season long.
On one Friday night in early February, the sophomore was back in the lineup, and the complexity of Garden City’s season may have changed with the switch.
Calzonetti recorded her first double-double of her varsity career, scoring 21 points and pulling down a season-best 11 rebounds as Garden City overcame a late six-point deficit to beat Guymon 59-54 at Tigers Field House.
“For Josie, it’s something we know that she is capable of,” assistant coach Katie Upton said afterwards. “A lot of it had to do with the amount of focus she had.”
That focus was on full display during a stellar second half where Calzonetti scored 17 points, including eight in the final quarter. Her three-point play with 29 seconds left erased a six-point deficit and put Garden City on top 55-54.
“I’m not sure where it came from tonight, but we are going to try and model it so it happens as much as possible,” Upton said with a smile. “We will need her to go get Dodge.”
As good as the sophomore was on Friday, it was a defensive play late by Lexi Hogan and Tiffany Butler that finally put the Tigers away.
After Calzonetti sank the go-ahead free throw, the Tigers raced past the Buffaloes’ press. Alexis Bishop found herself wide open on the right wing. But instead of pulling up, the sophomore guard attacked Hogan who swatted her shot right to Butler, who, as she was falling out of bounds on the baseline, threw the ball 40-feet into Garden City’s front court. Aerianna Stinemetz picked up the rock and glided to the rim for an easy layup.
“Those are the plays we’ve been looking for,” Upton said. “It’s the little hustle plays that got us over the top.”
Butler’s basketball I.Q. is off the charts. Her heave in the final seconds proved that.
The win was no work of art, but with substate positioning still up for grabs, Garden City (6-9, 0-3) will take it.
The Buffaloes managed to capture their first true road victory of the season despite shooting less than 40 percent for the ninth straight game. They were 19-of-55 from the field (35 percent).
“I think the girls are finally buying in,” Upton explained. “Our theme from here on out is whatever it takes. We told the girls that from this point on, we will do whatever it takes to win.”
Abbie Dart scored 14 of her 20 points in the first half, including a stretch of eight straight points that gave the Buffaloes a 17-13 advantage early in the second quarter.
Olivia Armstrong scored 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting but was held to just four in the second half. Megan Bellar tallied 15 points for Guymon (11-6), who lost for the fourth time in their last five games.
At one point Armstrong and Bellar combined to score 22 straight points as the Tigers grabbed a 29-27 edge at the half.
But it was the Buffaloes who started hot. Calzonetti’s putback and layup coupled with Dart’s early triple had the Buffaloes up 7-0. But the Tigers countered with nine straight points to grab a 9-7 advantage. It was one of nine lead changes in the first half.
Tip ins: Calzonetti hit her first six shots of the game…she and Dart combined for 41 points on 12-of-22 shooting (55 percent)-the rest of the team was just 7-of-33 (21 percent)…With Garden City’s win, coupled with Wichita Northwest and Hutchison losses, the Buffaloes moved into the No. 4 seed in the substate standings (If the playoffs started today, Garden City would host the Salt Hawks in round one)
Next up: Garden City at Dodge City-Monday, February 8-5:45 p.m. pregame; 6 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr; mobile app: KWKR and tuneinradio app: KWKR
Boys
Listen to the complete game in our archive section
Guymon, OK (westernkansasnews.com)-For 16 minutes on Friday night, Garden City’s offense resembled a jumbled mess, something not seen before in Jacy Holloway’s six seasons on the bench.
Even a 16-minute revival over the final two quarters wasn’t enough to undo the damage.
Jovan Ochoa scored 14 points and pulled down nine boards, Carter Nash scored eight of his 11 points over the final 5:37, and Guymon held on for a 43-37 victory over the Buffaloes.
“That might have been one of the worst performances I’ve seen in a long time,” Holloway said in describing his team’s first-half effort. “We were way too passive.”
The Buffaloes missed 11 of their first 12 shots from the field; went seven minutes between field goals and another 5:09 without a single point as Guymon (11-6) built an 18-point lead with 53 seconds left in the half. Only Jared Koster’s two free throws in the final half minute, gave the Buffaloes any type of pulse heading into the break. They trailed 24-8.
“We weren’t going to comeback with one possession,” Holloway said. “But I knew if we did the things that we wanted them to do, we could get back in the game.”
Holloway’s players adhered to their coach’s message in the second half, scoring the first 12 points of the third quarter to pull to within six with 5:10 remaining in the period. The Buffaloes outscored the Tigers 16-8 in the frame.
In the fourth, sophomore Demarcus Elliott sparked a lifeless bench, scoring or assisting on five straight buckets to pull Garden city to within three 35-32. But that’s as close as they would get. Nash hit a cold-blooded trey from the corner and the Buffaloes managed just one field goal over the final 5:10.
Nash hit three free throws down the stretch and added a tough runner near the elbow, and the Tigers beat the Buffaloes for the first time since 2009.
Jared Koster scored 10 points, ending a stretch of four straight games where he tallied 20 or more. It was his third lowest total of the season.
Zac Karlin and Elliott each scored six points apiece while Garrett Doll and Erwin Leal chipped in 5. Doll was just 2-of-11 from the field.
Tip ins: Garden City played without Griff Brunson, who sat with an injured foot…Scott Schmidt missed his second straight game because of an illness
Next up: Garden City at Dodge City-Monday, February 8 7:30 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr; mobile app: KWKR and tuneinradio app: KWKR
