BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Garden City's girls knocked down six 3-pointers and dominated inside for a 51-37 Western Athletic Conference basketball victory over Great Bend Friday.
A tough matchup developed when the Buffaloes Amaya Gallegos converted a trio of 3-pointers in a 17-point night. Keyhana Turner took charge inside with a 15-point outing and seven free throws. Garden City pulled away for a 38-20 third quarter lead with a 18-7 scoring edge. Gallegos hit a pair of 3-pointers and Turner scored eight points in the quarter.
"It's a tough matchup," said Great Bend coach Carrie Minton. "They've got size inside and sometimes it's too much to keep in check. They did a good job moving the ball and hit some outside shots tonight."
Great Bend (4-13, 1-5 WAC) was paced by hard-charging Sydney Unruh with 17 points and several sparkling assists. Alyssa Herter added seven points and Ashlyn Harbaugh scored six points.
The Panthers scored 17 points in an energetic fourth quarter behind some full-court pressure to outplay the Buffaloes. Unruh scored nine fourth-quarter points.
"When shots were falling, we got momentum," Minton said. "We needed that level of energy and intensity earlier in the game. It was a little too little, too late. When we missed a few easy baskets inside that first half, it takes the wind our of our sails. It was hard to get going."
Garden City (9-9, 3-2) swept the season series 2-0. Great Bend (4-13, 1-5) has improved three wins from last year heading to Tuesday's road game at Hays Thomas More Prep (5-11).
Garden City 11 9 13 18 — 51
Great Bend 9 4 7 17— 37
GARDEN CITY (9-9, 3-2)—Gallegos 5-13 4-4 17, Turner 4-9 7-14 15, Beasley 0-1 3-4 3, Calzonetti 2-5 1-1 5, Franco 2-4 0-0 6, Meng 1-2 0-1 2, Rodriguez 1-2 0-1 3, Flores 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 15-38 15-24 51.
GREAT BEND (4-13, 1-5)—Sydney Unruh 5-13 6-9 17, Harbaugh 2-3 2-3 6, Herter 3-10 0-0 7, Latham 1-3 0-0 2, Mauler 0-5 0-0 0, Schroeder 1-3 0-0 2, Warren 0-2 3-9 3, Smith 0-4 0-0 0, Totals 12-43 11-21 37.
3-pointers—GC 6-14 (Gallegos 3-6, Franco 2-3, Rodriguez 1-1, Calzonetti 0-1, Turner 0-3), GB 2-13 (Herter 1-4, Unruh 1-4, Schroeder 0-1, Mauler 0-4).
