Lady Buffs topple Ulysses
Ulysses, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-For the first time this season, the Garden City girls were completely whole. And during spurts Tuesday night, it showed.
Despite it not being their most inspired effort offensively, defensively the Lady Buffs clamped down-forcing 17 turnovers en route to a 52-33 victory at Tigers Field House.
“We did the things we needed to do to win the game,” Head Coach David Upton said. “We’re coming together more as a team, and that’s what I wanted to see.”
Upton watched as his team raced out to a 10-0 lead behind a steady defensive effort that held Ulysses (3-8, 2-3) scoreless the first six minutes of the game. In fact, the Tigers didn’t hit their first field goal until the opening minute of the second quarter.
Abbie Dart, who started off slowly in the first half, got things going with an eight-point second half-finishing the night tied with a team-best 11 points. Jessica Carillo also scored 11 and pulled down eight boards. Joslyn Munoz netted eight and Tiffany Butler chipped in seven.
Carolina Gallegos led the Tigers with 13 points. Arnold tallied eight points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Ulysses shot just 21 percent on 10-of-47. They were 1-of-19 from downtown.
Garden City (7-5, 2-2) built their lead up to as many as 20 in the second half. They led wire to wire.
Tip ins: Alexis Elliott made her first start of the season, scoring five points and reeling in four rebounds. But the senior missed most of the second half after suffering a neck injury.
“We didn’t want to take a chance with her in the second half,” Upton said. “We’ve got plenty of time to rest.”
Next up: at Newton Tournament-Thursday, January 29 (Times to be announced)—all games broadcast on 99.9 FM; kwkrmobile.com and mobile app: KWKR (tuneinradio: KWKR)
