Scott City swept at Liberal

Liberal, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–It was a tough shooting night for the Scott City Beaver basketball teams on Friday night at the Big House in Liberal, as the Redskins hosted the Beavers in their home opener. Friday’s doubleheader was also the first time that Scott City was able to play in front of parents, after the KSHSAA ruling on Tuesday. The Lady Red would pull away in the second half for a 42-26 win, while the Redskin boys used hot shooting early to propel them to a 53-28 win. 

Liberal Girls 42, Scott City 26
Neither team was able to connect from the floor either on, as the teams played to a low scoring battle in the first half. Liberal led 4-3 after one quarter and 13-9 at the break. Scott City got a three-point play from Erika Felker in the second half to get to within 13-12 in the first minute, but the Lady Red would start to pull away after that. Leading 17-14 with 5:34 remaining in the third frame, Liberal used an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to lead 28-16 with around a minute remaining in the third period. The Lady Beavers pulled to within nine heading into the final quarter. To begin the fourth stanza, the Lady Red would grow their lead in the first 90 seconds to lead 33-19 with 6:46 left. Scott City couldn’t get any closer than 12, as Liberal took the game with a 42-26 final. The Lady Beaver defense held a red-hot Liberal team to their second lowest point total to date, as the Lady Red had scored 80 on Tuesday and 66 the previous night at Wichita Trinity. 

Ashley Carillo had 13 of her game-high 14 points in the second half for Liberal, while Bree Horyna added 12. They had 11 turnovers and finished with 24 rebounds. Amber Latta led Scott City with 13 points, as they committed 22 turnovers. 

With the win, Liberal has now won three straight in the series, and holds a 14-5 edge since 1985. It was their 30th consecutive home win, and they have won 26 consecutive games, one of the longest streaks in Kansas. 

Scott City 3-6-10-7-26
Liberal     4-9-15-14-42

Scott City (1-2): Rumford 0 1-2 1; Strine 1 0-0 2; Latta 5 3-6 13; Felker 1 2-3 4; Cupp 0 2-4 2; Patton 1 2-2 4; Team: 8 10-17 26
Liberal (4-0): Carrillo 4 6-8 14; Hay 2 0-0 6; Payton 0 0-0 0; Hatcher 0 0-0 0; Dodge 0 0-0 0; Contreras 2 0-0 4; Hallman 1 0-0 2; Horyna 4 4-6 12; Warden 2 0-2 4; Team: 15 10-16 42

Three Poiners: Scott City 0, Liberal 2 (Hay 2); Rebounds: Scott City 19, Liberal 24; Turnovers: Scott City 22, Liberal 11; Fouls: Scott City 11, Liberal 17; Fouled out: None.

Coach Amy Felker Postgame

Liberal Boys 53, Scott City 28
Scott City would grab an early 1-0 lead with a little over two minutes into the game. After that it was all Liberal. They put together runs of eight and nine with hot shooting, and led 17-2 after the first quarter. The Beavers wouldn’t get their first field goal to go down until the 5:57 mark of the second quarter, when they were down 21-5. A 9-5 run by the Redskins gave them a 30-10 halftime lead. Liberal would score the first nine points of the second half, before the Scott City offense showed some life with eight straight to get to within 39-18 with 1:41 left in the third quarter. To begin the final period, the Redskins had a 9-1 run to grab their largest lead of the game at 51-21 with five minutes left. That prompted a running clock for the rest of the night. The Beavers would score seven of the games final nine points, and fall 53-28.

Liberal saw Embry Williams score 25 points, while AJ Ramirez added 16, as the Redskins had eight turnovers and were 4-4 at the free throw line. Gus Hawkins had nine points to lead Scott City, who had 20 turnovers. The Beavers have dropped two straight games, while Liberal snapped a two-game skid.

With the win, Liberal leads the series since 1985 9-8, and have won back to back games against the Beavers for the first time since December and January of 2004 and 2005.

Scott City 2-8-10-8-28
Liberal    17-13-12-11-53

Scott City (1-2): I. Tarango  0-0 0; Rosin 2 0-0 6; King 1 0-2 2; Stevens 0 1-2 1; Thon 1 0-0 3; Culp 0 1-2 1; Hawkins 4 1-3 9; Bailey 0 0-2 0; Metzgar 0 0-0 0; E. Tarango 1 0-0 3; Gooden 1 0-1 2; Team: 10 3-10 28
Liberal (2-2): Whiltshire 2 1-1 5; Lopez 0 0-0 0; Ramirez 8 0-0 16; Kerr 0 0-0 0; Gilmore 0 0-0 0; Jenkins 1 0-0 2; Johnson-Lewis 0 0-0 0; Williams 9 3-3 25; Garcia-Rotolo 0 0-0 0; Huskey 1 0-0 3; Team: 21 4-4 53

Three Pointers: Scott City 5 (Rosin 2, King 1, Thon 1, E. Tarango 1), Liberal 5 (Wiliams 4, Huskey 1); Rebounds: Scott City 26, Liberal 23; Turnovers: Scott City 20, Liberal 8; Fouls: Scott City 16, Liberal 13, Fouled Out: None.

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame

Scott City will host Wichita Trinity Saturday afternoon, as the girls play at 2 pm, and the boys will follow. Liberal begins WAC play with a trip to Hays next Friday.