Red Demons finish 10-10
By: Shelton Burch
Sports Editor
The Dodge City Red Demons basketball teams each finished theirregularseasons10-10overall Thursday night.
On the girls side, the Lady Demons trailed by as much as 21 points in their game against the Lady Redskins on the way to a 53-46 loss Thursday night.
“Like I told the girls, this was a measuring-stick for us: How much have we improved over the course of the season and felt like it showed,”Lady Demon head coach Kelley Snodgrass said.“Obviously you can’t start off with little-to no energy and dig a hole like that. I know that’s something we’ll have to learn from, but I’m pleased with how they fought back and I do think that its hows the growth that we’ve had throughout the season.” Sophomore Chidera Okoro had a game-high 15 points and tied junior Caroline Williams with a team high six rebounds. Williams also had a team-high three assists.
For the Lady Redskins, Katie Horyna and Machia Mullens each hadteam-highsof13. Horyna also had a game-high six assists. Lady Redskin Aubrey Warden had a game-high11rebounds.
The Lady Demons were out rebounded 30-24Thursdaynight. They also committed one more turnover than the Lady Redskins, but were outscored 28-12 off of those turnovers.
The slow start for Dodge City was one of the key factors in the game though. Dodge City was outscored 20-4 in the first quarter. Though they outscored Liberal 20-14 in the second and 13-4 in the third to get back into it, Liberal closed them out with a 15-9fourth-quarterperformance. Snodgrass said she couldn’t point to one specific area this team has grown in the most this season, but how the team played on offense against press defense was one example.
“I think that we handled the press a little bit better and were on attack-mode,” Snodgrass said. “The first time we kind of went stagnant on offense versus the zone and I thought we scored way more efficiently.”
Another has been the play of Okoro.
“Chidera’s been a big plus for us,” Snodgrass said. “We gotta get her more touches. They did a good job of taking her away late in the fourth.”
Those were just a few.
The Lady Demons will next be in action next week when they host their first opponent in the Sub-State tournament. Seeding will be done Saturday, according to the Kansas High School Activities Association website.
In the boys game, the Red Demonsjumpedahead5-0butthe Redskins got back into it and led 18-14attheendofthefirstquarte. The last one,however,belonged to Dodge City, which outscored Liberal 31-18 in the fourth to beat the Redskins 73-63.
Red Demon head coach Tony Starnes said he was excited to have won Thursday with it being senior night and against a good opponent. Liberal’s Kace Vongsakda led all scorers with 32 points, and fellow- Redskin Tristen Bigham had a double-double with 16 points with a game-high 11 rebounds.
“The second half I thought we kind of wore‘em down but the first half I thought they did a great job on us, stagnating us offensively,” Starnes said.“We just came out in the second half and got downhill. Good things happen when you get downhill: Shots open up and soon, but Noah Sowers, Hunter Heath, John Johnson was phenomenal.”
Senior Hunter Heath had a team-high 21 points and nine rebounds, while junior Noah Sowers had 18 points and three assists, the later of which tied a team-high with Samuel Meade and Luke Gleason.
One of the best performers
recently though has been sophomore John Johnson. He had 19 points and eight rebounds Thursday night.
“He’s turning to a good player, because he works at it,” Starnes said. “Good for him.”
His confidence has improved, Starnes said, which is a good sign for someone “long and athletic.” “He’s just gonna get better and better over the next couple of years,” Starnes said.
He was far from the only strong performer Thursday though. The seniors, from Kaden Riekenberg to Luke Gleason to Hunter Heath all played well, Starnes said.
“All those guys really played well,” Starnes said.
Senior Kaden Riekenberg competed with Vongsakda the whole night, Starnes said.
“It’s just a big win, a big win for us,” Starnes said.
