BUFFS ROUNDUP: Wednesday, January 29, 2020
GIRLS BASKETBALL
For the past decade or more, the Garden City Lady Buffs basketball team has headed to central Kansas the last week of January to compete in the prestigious eight-team Newton Invitational.
For the most part, with an eight-team bracket, over a three-day period, a coach and players know they will be playing at specific times based upon winning or losing opening-round games.
This year, however, the Newton Invite came up one team short as Shawnee Mission-Bishop Miege, one of the state’s premier girls programs, opted to compete in the McPherson Invitational.
Thus, with seven remaining teams and unable to fill the eighth slot, tournament officials created a four-team bracket over the first two days comprised of Bishop Carroll vs. Newton and Dodge City vs. Olathe Northwest, with winners and losers facing each other on Friday.
The remaining three teams — Andover Central, Garden City and Wichita-Kapaun Mt. Carmel — will play a three-team, pool play bracket on Wednesday-Thursday-Friday.
The Lady Buffs drew Andover Central for the Thursday 6 p.m. game while Central and Kapaun Mt. Carmel were to open the tournament with a 6 p.m. Wednesday contest. Garden City faces Kapaun on Friday, also at 6 o’clock. The remaining four teams will play Thursday at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Andover Central drew the overall No. 1 seed, with Bishop Carroll the No. 2 seed. Dodge City earned the No. 3 seed and the Lady Buffs the No. 4 spot. Kapaun (5), Olathe Northwest (6) and Newton (7) rounded out the seeding.
Saturday’s final day of action won’t be determined until Friday’s games are completed. The third-place team in Pool Play will face the 4-team consolation bracket winner for fifth place at 2 p.m. The second place team in Pool Play will face the loser of the championship semifinal Friday at 4 p.m. for third place while the Pool Play No. 1 team will face the 4-team bracket winner at 6 p.m. Saturday for the overall championship.
Coach Matt Pfeifer’s team is coming off a 9-day layoff after defeating Ulysses, 54-40, on Jan. 21. That left the Lady Buffs with an overall season record of 7-3.
Following the tournament action, the Lady Buffs will resume Western Athletic Conference play on Tuesday, Feb. 4, with a road game at rival Dodge City, with tip-off set for 6 p.m. at the DCHS Gymnasium.
Garden City High School 