Stubbing their toe; Lady Buffs fall in tournament opener

Final Highlights: 

Newton, Kan (westernkansasnews.com)-If there was ever a contrast between one quarter and the final three, Thursday’s game against Bishop Carroll proved to be it. 

Jordyn Miller and Shelby Lopez combined for 33 points on 15-of-24 shooting, and the Lady Eagles overcame a sluggish start to beat No. 8 Garden City 50-42 in the first round of the 38th annual Newton Invitational. 

“The majority of our mistakes happened in the second half,” Head Coach David Upton said afterwards. “I thought we did a pretty nice job maximizing possessions in the first 16 minutes.”

In fact Garden City (8-4, 3-1) couldn’t have started the game any better. The Buffs raced out to a 6-0 lead after buckets by Jaymie Berbeck and Breece Dreiling. Then after Carroll finally got on the board, it was Taryn Tempel’s impressive drive to the basket that put the Buffs up 8-2. But things started to slowly change after that. 

The Eagles closed the opening frame on a 6-4 spurt and took their first lead of the game at the 4:32 mark of the second quarter. Garden City regained the advantage right before the half, only to see Miller’s layup knot the game at 23-23. Then the wheels fell off. 

The opening possession of the third quarter signified the type of day it was for the Buffs-a turnover. Tempel’s layup midway through the third quarter halted a a 5-0 Eagles run and pulled Garden City within one. That’s as close as they would get the rest of the way. 

Bishop Carroll went to work on the glass. Lopez misfired a straight-on three, but Miller gathered in one of her five rebounds and muscled it back up for two. On the Buffs next possession, Tempel dribbled the ball of her foot leading to a Lopez uncontested finger roll at the other end.

Then Bernbeck, who missed her last four shots after hitting her first three, couldn’t connect on a wraparound layup. Maddie Youngers grabbed the defensive board-leading the Eagle break. The junior hit Miller for an open jumper, which she clanked off the front rim, but freshman Brynn Mall was there to clean it up. Six straight points finally led to a Garden City timeout. 

Another Buffs giveaway led to Miller’s transition bucket-extending the Bishop Carroll (9-2) lead to nine. And by the time it was all said in the third period, the Golden Eagles had outscored Garden City 17-6-taking a 40-29 lead into the final quarter. 

The Buffs had their chances in the fourth, but missed free throws-Garden City finished 12-of-22 from the line (8-of-14 down the stretch) and turnovers-the Buffs gave it away 11 times in the second half–were too much to overcome. 

“A lot of it was us just not being in the right position to pass the ball,” Upton said. “We need to take better care of the ball.”

Next up: Newton Tourney Consolation semifinals-Garden City vs. Olathe Northwest-3 p.m. tip on KWKR 99.9 FM and westernkansasnews.com

Final Stats: GCHS vs. Bishop Carroll