Liberal sweeps Scott City

Garden City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Saturday’s games for Scott City and Liberal were the first matchups for the teams in five seasons. At Garden City High School, it would be the Redskins who would take home two wins in the Clarion Inn Roundball Classic. The girls game would be 60-26, while the Liberal boys rallied for a 40-37 win.

Liberal Girls 60, Scott City 26
Scott City would score the first two points of the game, only to see Liberal rally for nine straight points. The Lady Beavers would stay in the game, ending the quarter on a 6-2 run to trail 10-8 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the No. 6 team in Class 6A would flex their muscles, going on a 20-3 run to lead 30-11 at the break. Liberal (5-0) had runs of 11, 10 and seven in the second quarter, and grew to the lead 52-20 after the third period. A running clock would be in place in the fourth quarter, as the Lady Redskins would win 60-26. Scott City (2-2) had two scoring droughts of over five minutes in the game.

Katie Horyna drained four three-pointers for a game-high 24 points, and was the Roundball Classic MVP. Liberal was 16-22 at the free throw line. Emily Weathers had nine for Scott City, as the Lady Beavers were 12-17 at the foul line. It was the second straight game that Scott City made 10 or fewer field goals in a game.

Liberal is now 13-5 vs Scott City since 1985. Scott City is 6-15 all time in the Roundball Classic.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Liberal Boys 40, Scott City 37
While both teams played at a slower pace, it was a game that saw six ties and five lead changes. Liberal would take a 12-9 lead, only to see Scott City (2-2) score the first 11 points of the second quarter, and eventually took a 20-15 lead at the break. The Redskins went on a nine-minute scoring drought in the first half, before scoring right before halftime. In the second half, the Beavers scored the first seven points of to lead 27-15 with 3:01 left in the third quarter. When it looked like Scott City would be well on their way to a win, Liberal (4-1) would rally, and rally in a big way. They closed the third quarter on a 7-3 run to pull to within 30-22 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Redskins hit their first five shots and eventually tie the game at 33 with 3:34 left. The teams traded baskets before Liberal took their first lead of the second half at 37 with 1:59 left. After the Beavers tied the game at 37 with 1:31 remaining, Liberal hit three of four free throws in the final 49 seconds to lead for good. A last chance desperation three was wide, and the Redskins picked up a victory similar to the one they had on Thursday night against Dalhart.

Jordan Mendoza led Liberal with 21 points, hitting four three’s in the game. He had 14 in the fourth quarter and his first seven came in the first quarter. The Redskins were 6-8 at the foul line and had only seven turnovers. Marshall Faurot led Scott City with 19 points. The Beavers were 10-13 at the free throw line, and had 13 turnovers.

It was the first win by Liberal over Scott City since 2007, when they beat the Beavers 67-62 in the Colby Orange & Black. It snapped Scott City’s five game winning streak in the series. The Beavers are 13-8 in the Roundball Classic.

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame

Scott City will have two more games left before Christmas break, as they will open GWAC play at Hugoton on Friday, and will be at Goodland on Tuesday, December 18. Liberal hosts Perryton, TX on Friday.