BY JIM MISUNAS
HUTCHINSON – Great Bend standout Sadie Spray glanced at the scorebook and smiled – Kara Feist, Emilee Hall and Makenzie Premer all with nine points.
Of course, Spray scored her typical 21-point game, but she appreciated the way her teammates stepped up in a hard-fought 52-35 non-league basketball victory over Buhler. Spray was the focus of Buhler’s defense as usual.
“Boy, that was sure nice to see my teammates playing with confidence and play that great,” Spray said. “It felt like one of one our best games of the season. It was great to see tonight.”
Great Bend coach Cindy Beck turned the tables in Buhler with full-court pressure defense that led to a 17-3 lead after one quarter and a 31-8 halftime lead. Time-after-time, the Panthers double teamed Buhler's ballhandlers to turn 14 takeaways into easy scores.
“The girls came out aggressive and we played exceptional defense that first half,” Beck said. “The girls took advantage of every opportunity and scored easy points. The girls were definitely ready to go tonight. It was a fantastic defensive first half. It was good to jump out ahead.”
Buhler played a spirited second half against lighter Great Bend pressure. Buhler converted 5 of 13 3-pointers.
Great Bend (7-8) will journey to Garden City Friday.
“I liked the way the girls played tonight,” Beck said. “We’re building momentum going to Friday.”
Great Bend 17 14 8 13 – 52
Buhler 3 5 11 16 – 35
GREAT BEND (7-8)—Spray 8-16 4-5 21, Hall 4-8 1-1 9, Kara Feist 4-7 0-1 9, Premer 4-8 0-0 9, Reimer 2-3 0-0 4, Thexton 0-3 0-0 0, McCauley 0-3 0-0 0, Totals 22-48 5-7 52
BUHLER (5-11)— Krafels 2-5 5-6 9, Baxter 2-4 0-1 6, Stallman 2-6 2-2 6, Oord 2-6 0-2 5, Taylor 1-4 1-2 4, Siemens 1-4 0-0 3, Brooks 1-2 0-0 2, Sewell 0-2 0-0 0, Deviney 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 11-35 8-13 35
3-pointers—GB 4-10 (Spray 1-4, K. Feist 1-2, Premer 1-2, Thexton 0-2); B 5-13 (Baxter 2-3, Siemens 1-3, Oard 1-3, Taylor 1-3, Krafels 0-1)
