Hutch takes down Garden City girls

Hutchinson, KS-And just like that, their season is over.

Gabbie Posch scored 23 points including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:42 remaining, and Hutchinson beat Garden City 46-43 in the 6A substate semifinals at the Salthawk Student Activity Center.

“It’s tough because the season is over,” Garden City Coach Matt Pfeifer said afterwards. “But I’m proud of these girls. They never quit.”

With the win, Hutchinson advances to Friday night’s substate final to play Manhattan.

“We gave ourselves a chance to win the game,” Pfeifer said. “That’s all you can ask for.”

But one controversial no call will sit with the second-year coach the entire offseason.

Down by one with 30 seconds to go, the Buffaloes fouled Posh. The sophomore missed the front end of the 1-and-1, and Josie Calzonetti grabbed the rebound. Seconds later, the senior stumbled out of bounds, but only because she was apparently shoved in the back by Kasey Hazell.

“I was beside myself,” Pfeifer admitted. “I don’t know how you miss that.”

Instead of having the ball with a chance to take the lead, Hutchinson (12-8) retained possession, and the Buffaloes were forced to foul. This time Posch hit both free throws, and the Salthawks had a 46-43 advantage.

“That’s the way it goes, but Josie is a very heady basketball player, and she wouldn’t just fall out of bounds by herself,” Pfeifer said.

Garden City (6-15) still had a chance to force overtime in the final seconds, but Calzonetti’s long ball from the top of the key fell short, ending the Buffaloes’ quest for a fourth substate championship game appearance in the last five years.

“We got the look we wanted, but we waited a little too long,” Pfeifer said. “We should have went a few seconds earlier.”

Despite the miss, Calzonetti was fantastic in her last game as a Buffalo, scoring 17 points and pulling down nine boards. She scored her team’s final six points, which included a sensational finish on a cut to the rim that tied the game at 41 with 1:55 to play.

“Josie was great,” Pfeifer said. “She did everything that we asked of her.”

Garden City found themselves down by eight late in the third quarter after Hazel converted a layup. But the Buffaloes bounced right back, getting a three-point play from Calzonetti, a 3-pointer from Taryn Tabor and a free throw from Keyhana Turner that had the Buffaloes within four heading to the fourth.

“We played with a lot of confidence in this game,” Pfeifer said.

Turner hit back-to-back 3’s in the first 1:30 of the final period, the second of which gave Garden City their first lead since the opening quarter, 35-33. But it lasted all of 10 seconds when Hazel hit a twisting layup on the right block, Peyton Allen added a three-point play, and Morgan Armbrust hit a jumper from the free throw line to give the Salthawks a 41-39 edge with 2:12 left.

“There are obviously a couple of things that we could have done better,” Pfeifer said. “But I loved our effort.”

After Calzonetti tied the game at 41, the Buffaloes had their lone defensive lapse of the second half when they left Posch all alone on the left wing. The sophomore rattled a home a triple, and Hutchinson never trailed again.

“Posch really hurt us tonight,” Pfeifer said. “But she’s a good player, and we knew what she was capable of.”

Posch finished 5-of-10 from deep and 8-of-13 from the floor for Hutchinson, who won just their third playoff game since 2008. Hazell added 13 points and six boards, and Allen chipped in four.

Turner scored 12 points for Garden City, who finished with a losing record for the third straight season.

“These seniors did a great job of leading by example,” Pfeifer said.

Garden City scored the first four points of the game, and held Hutchinson scoreless the first five minutes of the opening period before Posch finally got the Salthawks on the board with a triple from the right wing. It was part of an 8-0 Hutchinson run that had the home squad up by two at the end of one. They built that lead to as many as eight in the second quarter before Calzonetti hit back-to-back 3s to pull Garden City to within two, 19-17 at the break.