jmisunas@gbtribune.com
SALINA — It's becoming quite obvious that 44 is Great Bend's lucky number.
Great Bend's girls delivered a defensive clinic to roll past Buhler 44-26 in Thursday's Salina Basketball Invitational. It marked the third consecutive game the Panthers have scored 44 points. The Panthers forced 17 turnovers and held the Crusaders to 11 of 44 shooting (25%).
It was shocking contrast to Dec. 19 when the Panthers had to outscore Buhler 17-4 to rally for a 51-46 victory after trailing 42-34.
Panthers Jillian Reimer and Makenzie Premer delivered the key defensive assignments with secondary defense from Sadie Spray. Reimer played perfect denial defense while challenging stylish Buhler point guard Ella Voss, who broke down the Panthers' zone defense in December. The Panthers constantly applied ball pressure and double teamed whenever it was possible.
The Panthers roared to a 17-4 first-quarter lead with stifling defense.
"We made a big adjustment because last time, we pressed and fell back into a zone," said Great Bend coach Cindy Beck. "Tonight, we went into a pressure man and the girls did a great job of playing solid defense."
The defense was so potent that Sadie Spray's typical 20-point outing was a side story. Premer's teammates Emilee Hall and Premer each added eight points to balance the offense that overcame 20 turnovers.
Buhler's Gracie Oord scored 10 points against Premer's outstanding defense, but her teammates managed 7 of 30 shooting. The Panthers pressured the Crusaders everywhere with a wave of defenders. The Crusaders converted 3 of 15 shots from 3-point range.
"We contested their shooters," Beck said. "We made them hit a shot over us. We didn't send them to the line. Our defense has been a big focus. We'll roll with what we're doing. We like it the way we're getting wins. We want to speed them up and pick off passes when we can."
Buhler 4 6 6 10 — 26
Great Bend 17 7 8 12 — 44
BUHLER (2-5)—Oard 4-14 0-0 10, Stallman 3-4 0-0 6, Krafels 2-6 0-0 4, Baxter 1-7 0-0 2, Miller 0-2 0-0 0, Siemens 0-1 0-0 0, Brooks 0-3 1-4 1, Howard 1-1 0-0 2, Voss 0-4 0-0 0, Totals 11-44 1-4 26.
GREAT BEND (8-2)—Spray 8-14 3-4 20, Premer 4-8 0-2 8, Hall 4-8 0-0 8, McCauley 1-2 0-0 2, Thexton 1-2 0-0 2, Ringo 1-3 0-0 2, Bryant 1-2 0-0 2, Nicholson 0-1 0-0 0, Reimer 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 20-40 3-6 44.
3-pointers—B 3-15 (Oord 2-6, Krafels 1-2, Baxter 0-1, Taylor 0-1, Siemens 0-2, Voss 0-3), GB 1-5 (Spray 1-2, McCauley 0-1, Nicholson 0-1, Premer 0-1).
SALINA GIRLS
FIRST ROUND—Andover High 66, Junction City 8; Liberal 47, Salina Central 42 (OT); Salina South 30, Abilene 28; Great Bend 44, Buhler 26
1-19—SECOND ROUND—Andover 9-0 vs. Liberal 7-3, 3; Great Bend 8-2 vs. Salina South 6-2, 6; Buhler 2-5 vs. Abilene 0-8, 3; Salina Central 4-3 vs. Junction City 0-9, 6
1-20—1ST—Andover 10-0/Liberal 8-3 winner vs. Great Bend 9-2/Salina South 7-2 winner, 1 p.m.; 3RD—Andover 9-1/Liberal 7-4 loser vs. Great Bend 8-3/Salina South 6-3 loser, 10 a.m.; 5TH—Buhler 3-5/Abilene 1-8 winner vs. Salina Central 5-3/Junction City 1-9winner, 1 p.m.; 7TH—Buhler/Abilene loser vs. Salina Central 4-4/Junction City 1-10 loser, 10 a.m.
