BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
SALINA – It’s safe to say that Great Bend's All-Tournament pick Sadie Spray was in the wrong place at the wrong time at the Salina Basketball Invitational. Spray missed 10 minutes in the first half with three fouls She played with four fouls for the final 10:34 that limited her effectiveness.
No. 1 ranked 5A Andover took advantage of Spray’s foul issues for a 55-37 victory over Great Bend to capture the Salina Basketball Invitational. Andover's Most Valuable Player Aliyah Green sparked the victory with 20 points and physical defense against several Panthers.
Spray scored 12 second-half points as the Panthers closed within 33-26 in the third quarter. But Andover's height advantage and sharpshooting guards were too much to overcome. Andover outscored the Panthers 22-11 in the final 10 minutes.
Shetlar scored nine points and teamed with the 6-1 Green to dominate rebounding and interior defense. The Trojans played without Utah signee point guard Brooke Walker (13 ppg), who was sidelined with an ankle injury.
Andover's trio of lightning-quick guards Amelya Vance, Bella Bouddara and Katie Evans combined for 24 points, a trio of 3-pointers and aggressive defense that helped force 21 Panther turnovers.
"Andover's a tough match-up. There's a reason why they're the No. 1 team in 5A girls," said Great Bend coach Cindy Beck. "Green plays hard and makes it tough on you. With their height, they got close-in shots. They rebounded to get extra shots, which is a challenge against a good team."
Great Bend's All-Tournament Emilee Hall led the Panthers with her finest effort of the season with 15 points while defending Andover's tall and talented tandem of 6-1 Green and 6-3 Alana Shetlar.
"Emilee hit big-time shots and defended much taller players inside," Beck said. "She always accepts her challenge defensively."
Beck liked how the Panthers competed against a talented Andover team that has 5A state title aspirations.
"We showed good fight and showed up to compete," Beck said. "We had an opportunity to compete against a basketball team that will make us a better team. We learned some things that will help us."
Great Bend 10 2 16 9 – 37
Andover 7 17 14 17 – 55
ANDOVER (11-0)—Green 8-12 4-12 20, Bouddara 4-9 2-2 11, Evans 3-7 0-0 9, Shetlar 4-9 0-1 9, Vance 1-5 2-2 4, Hand 0-1 0-0 0, Christensen 1-2 0-0 2, Sullivan 0-4 0-0 0, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 21-51 8-17 55.
GREAT BEND (9-3)—Hall 7-14 0-0 15, Spray 5-10 1-2 12, Bryant 3-4 0-0 6, McCauley 1-3 0-0 3, Ringo 0-2 1-2 1, Premer 0-1 0-0 0, Reimer 0-2 0-0 0, Thexton 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 16-37 2-4 37.
3-pointers—GB 3-8 (Hall 1-2, Spray 1-2, McCauley 1-3, Thexton 0-1); A 5-17 (Evans 3-5, Shetlar 1-4, Bouddara 1-4, Hand 0-1, Christensen 0-1, Vance 0-2)
ALL TOURNAMENT—Aliyah Green, Alana Shetlar, Andover; Sadie Spray, Emilee Hall, Great Bend; Paitlyn Fritz, Tamia Cheeks, Salina South; Hailey Contreras, Liberal; Shamari Lewis, Liberal; Gracie Oord, Buhler; Tyler Vidricksen, Salina Central
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER—Aliyah Green, Andover
MOST INSPIRATIONAL—Bella Bouddara, Andover
SALINA GIRLS
FINAL ROUND—1ST—Andover 55, Great Bend 37; 3RD—Liberal 54, Salina South 50; 5TH—Buhler 34, Salina Central 23; 7TH—Junction City 26, Abilene 25
SECOND ROUND—Andover 67, Liberal 39; Great Bend 44, Salina South 37; Buhler 34, Abilene 13; Salina Central 51, Junction City 9
FIRST ROUND—Andover High 66, Junction City 8; Liberal 47, Salina Central 42 (OT); Salina South 30, Abilene 28; Great Bend 44, Buhler 26
