The Garden City Telegram
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GCCC vs SCCC Women
Published 2/25/2008 in Sports : GCCC
By BRETT RIGGS
riggs@gctelegram.com
LIBERAL -- Jake Ripple knew his team had a golden opportunity Saturday night.
If you'd have told him Seward County star Tegan Cunningham would shoot 4-of-20 from the field and that his Garden City Lady Broncbusters would out-rebound the host Saints 46-44 and be right on their heels most of the night, he might have liked his chances of stealing a big road win.
The Busters did have their chances, but they just couldn't hit enough shots or make enough stops to capitalize, falling 64-58.
"We made some critical turnovers at times when we really needed to get a basket," Ripple said. "We've got to make more shots than we did tonight."
Trailing 31-25 at the half, the Busters (10-18, 5-9 Jayhawk West) opened the second half with a 9-2 run. A 3-pointer by Jessica Copeland capped the run and gave the Busters a 34-33 lead with 14:07 remaining.
The Saints (20-8, 11-3) responded by attacking inside, scoring eight points in the paint and adding four free throws in a 12-4 run that put them up 45-38.
Garden City center Janel Durler, who had been making things tough on the Saints post players, picked up her third and fourth fouls in the Saints' surge, sending her to the bench with 8:15 remaining.
"We forced them into a lot of tough shots," Ripple said about the Busters' defense when Durler was in the game, "and that's why that was such a big deal when Janel got her fourth foul."
Another 3-pointer by Copeland pulled the Busters within 45-42 with 8:03 remaining, but the Saints used a 10-3 run to seize control. By the time Durler came back in the game at the 3:42 mark, the Saints were up 55-45.
The Busters made one final push, using an 11-6 run to pull within 61-56 with 25 seconds left, but the Saints hit 3 of 4 at the line to secure the win.
Cunningham, who ironically became the Saints all-time leading scorer on a night when she struggled mightily on the offensive end, finished with 14 points. That was enough to eclipse Jamie Talbert's mark of 1,274 points by eight.
Neither Cunningham's record nor the Saints win came easy against the Busters, who grabbed 46 rebounds to the Saints' 44 and held the Saints to 32 percent field-goal shooting. Seward County did manage to hit 18 of 20 free throws, including 12 of 14 in the second half.
The effort should have been enough, Ripple said, but poor execution at times proved costly.
"I feel horrible for them tonight. Their effort was so great," Ripple said.
Whitnie Young led the Busters with 18 points, although she had only four in the second half. Durler added 12 points. Trista Schmitt scored only five points, but led the Busters with 13 rebounds and five assists.
Audra Binford added 13 points for Seward County, and Stephani Rhoten had 12.
Ripple said he likes the Busters' chances this week against Hutchinson and Dodge City if they can repeat the effort they showed Saturday.
"If we can get Hutchinson and Dodge City and climb into that fifth spot in the conference, that's where we want to be," Ripple said.
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Seward County 64, Garden City 58
Garden City (10-18, 5-9)
Young 7-18 4-5 18, A. Brown 2-8 3-4 7, Schmitt 2-12 0-0 5, Durler 4-5 4-4 12, Novack 1-4 1-2 3, L. Brown 1-2 0-0 2, Copeland 2-3 0-0 6, Burnett 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Loadholt 2-10 1-3 5. Totals 21-62 13-18 58.
Seward County (19-8, 11-3)
Cunningham 4-20 6-6 14, Binford 4-11 3-4 13, Taylor 1-7 2-2 5, Rhoten 3-8 5-6 12, Noel 1-1 2-2 4, Crandall 0-1 0-0 0, Broadie 0-0 0-0 0, Rogers 1-4 0-0 2, Krause 2-4 0-0 4, Pierson 3-5 0-0 6, Gawor 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 21-66 18-20 64.
Halftime -- Seward County 31, Garden City 25. 3-point shooting -- Garden City 3-13 (Young 0-1, A. Brown 0-4, Schmitt 1-4, Novack 0-2, Copeland 2-2) Seward County 4-15 (Cunningham 0-2, Binford 2-7, Taylor 1-3, Rhoten 1-3). Total fouls -- Garden City 18, Seward County 16. Rebounds -- Garden City 46 (Schmitt 13) Seward County 44 (Cunningham 11). Assists -- Garden City 10 (Schmitt 5) Seward County 14 (Rhoten 7). Fouled out: Garden City, A. Brown. Technical fouls: none.
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