BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
On a historical night by Sadie Spray, teammate Makenzie Premer stole the show.
Spray converted a 15-foot fourth-quarter jumper to pass the career 1,000-point barrier with 1,001 points in a 42-27 Western Athletic Conference basketball victory over Dodge City.
Premer joined the fun with a career high night of 17 points and eight steals to spark 23 Panther points off 24 Dodge City turnovers.
"What a night," said Great Bend coach Cindy Beck. "It's an incredible achievement to score 1,000-career points, especially when you know defenses are trying to stop Sadie every time she plays. It's always nice to see other players stepping up."
The Panthers (11-5, 2-2 WAC) went back to basics with full-court pressure defense that dictated an aggressive tempo. The Panthers converted 13 first-half takeaways into easy transition points and extra offensive possessions.
Premer enjoyed the finest all-around basketball game in her career. Time-after-time, Premer's defense on Dodge City's throw-in disrupted the Red Demons.
"Makenzie played well defensively, which we expect," Beck said. "But that was her best game offensively. She was aggressive defensively and took the ball to the basket. That was great to see anytime we see someone stepping up."
The Panthers exploited their strength of speed and athleticism to hold the Red Demons to 32% shooting.
"The girls played three quarters of solid defense tonight," Beck said. "Our defense has been awfully good."
Alyssa McCauley led the bench brigade with five points and three assists.
Dodge City's physical Easha Potts was a handful with 14 points and eight rebounds, but Emilee Hall did a commendable job holding her to 5 of 13 shooting and three turnovers.
Great Bend 10 19 7 6 – 42
DODGE CITY (5-10, 1-3)—Potts 5-13 4-6 14, Gutierrez 3-6 0-0 8, Mellinger 1-2 0-0 2, Steiner 0-0 1-2 1, Bogner 1-4 0-0 2, Lembright 0-5 0-0 0, Taylor 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 10-31 5-8 27.
GREAT BEND (11-5, 2-2)—Premer 8-12 1-2 17, Spray 5-8 0-1 11, McCauley 2-8 0-0 5, Hall 2-10 0-0 4, Nicholson 1-2 0-0 3, Thexton 0-1 1-2 1, Reimer 0-1 1-2 1, Totals 18-42 3-7 42.
3-pointers—DC 2-13 (Gutierrez 2-5, Bogner 0-1, Taylor 0-1, Potts 0-3, Lembright 0-3); GB 3-10 (Nicholson 1-2, Spray 1-3, McCauley 1-5). Rebounds—DC 24 (Potts 8 ); GB 25 (Hall 6). Assists—DC 6, GB 12 (McCauley 3). Steals—DC 9 (Potts 4); GB 15 (Premer 8). TO—DC 24, GB 16.
