GCHS conference home-opener

Garden City  vs. Great Bend-Friday, January 10-pregame 5:45 p.m.; tipoff 6 p.m.

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Garden City, Kan (westernkansasnews.com)-Buffs Coach Jacy Holloway would readily admit that he wouldn’t mind going the rest of his life without seeing what transpired Tuesday in Dodge City. 

The Buffs shot a season-low 23 percent in a 35-26 loss to the Demons. It was also only the second time in their last 41 games that Garden City shot under 30 percent from the field. 

“It’s sad for a team this talented to come that unprepared to a game,” Holloway said. “That falls on us as coaches, but at the same time the players have to take the initiative. 

The first one should be free throw shooting. Garden City, who enters Friday night’s game at 4-3, is shooting 57 percent from the line. To put that number in perspective: They missed eight charity shots Tuesday night in a nine-point defeat. 

Scoring might be another area of concern. The 26-point output against Dodge was only the third time in the past three years that the Buffs failed to hit the 30-point mark. 

They will be getting some help on Friday as Great Bend comes to town with their own offensive malfunctions. The Panthers are averaging just 38 points per game. 

The girls started slow but finished strong Tuesday in a seven-point victory over a young, Dodge City squad. But the Buffs were tested. Twice in the final five minutes, their lead was cut to two. But each time, junior Jaymie Bernbeck answered the call with clutch buckets. Her 6-0 run late capped off Garden City’s fourth straight win. 

“We got to a point that we just gave the ball to Jaymie and let her decide what to do with it,” Head Coach David Upton said. “And it worked.”

That it did, to the tune of 20 points and 11 rebounds. They’ll need her steady play tonight against a red-hot Great Bend squad, who has knocked off three ranked teams in their first five games. Carrie Minton’s club is 4-1, and with a win on Friday, they will have already equaled last year’s win total.