The Dodge City Lady Demons basketball team continued their amazing season and year-long dominance of WAC foe Liberal as they defeated the Lady Redskins for the third time this season by a score of 56-47 in the Sub-State Championship in the DCHS Fieldhouse.
Dodge City (20-1) started fast as sisters Becca Unruh and Kisa Unruh both hit 3-pointers sandwiched around a layup by Camree Johnson and by the time Liberal took their first time out of the game the Demons were up 10-1. Senior Lauren Gleason nailed a 3-pointer to keep the momentum going for the Lady Demons. However, the Lady Redskins (17-5) would not go away easily as the talented team from just north of the Oklahoma border would pull within 13-11 within the first minute of the second quarter. Dodge City quickly extended the lead to nine as Kisa Unruh hit a 3-pointer followed by buckets from Johnson and Amaya Perez. However, the Redskins pulled back to within one before Perez hit a short range jump shot to send the Lady Demons to the halftime locker room up 22-19.
Dodge City started the second half on a 12-4 run extending the lead to 11 points after a layup from Kisa Unruh. By the end of the third quarter the Lady Demons were up (36-26) on the strength of a (14-7) third quarter.
The final eight minutes would prove to be no formality for the Lady Demons as Liberal continued to fight until the end. After the Lady Demons extended the lead to 15 points on a Camree Johnson 3-pointer, the Lady Redskins made their final charge. Over the next three minutes Liberal would get within four points of the Demons (46-42) and the momentum of a double digit lead was gone. Even with a series of clutch free throw makes from Gleason and Unruh – the game remained in question until Camree Johnson’s layup in the final minute put the contest out of reach and sent the Lady Demons to their first State Tournament since 2016.
The Lady Demons continued their patented unselfish play with 11 assists on 16 made field goals. Kisa Unruh led the way offensively with 18 points, followed by Johnson with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Perez and Gleason combined for 10 rebounds.
Dodge City advances to play Derby (18-4) in the 6A State Quarterfinals on Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. at the DCHS Fieldhouse. State Brackets can be found online at KSHSAA.org
