The Dodge City Lady Demons (8-1, #8 in 6A) will travel to Liberal (6-1, #10 in 6A) on Friday night for the program’s first Western Athletic Conference game of the season. The Lady Redskins currently sit atop the WAC standings at 3-0.
Dodge City and Liberal are no stranger to big matchups as they met last season on three separate occasions, all with championship implications. In the biggest game of the trio the Lady Demons defeated Liberal 56-47 in the Sub-State Championship game, sending Dodge City to the 6A State Tournament and eventual Final Four finish.
Either Dodge City or Liberal have won the last seven WAC girls basketball titles, and it appears both teams have championship caliber teams again this season.
Dodge City is led by Hutchinson Community College commit, Camree Johnson (Sr), who is averaging 18 ppg. Liberal is led by Presbyterian College signee, Ashley Carrillo (Sr), who is averaging (16) ppg. The Lady Demons have a senior led team with four starters who have a great deal of experience in big games. The lone underclassmen in the starting five is Becca Unruh who has started since her Freshman campaign.
Dodge City Head Coach Kelley Snodgrass says this season has been both frustrating and encouraging. “I feel like we haven’t come close to playing our best basketball yet, and we are 8-1, so I guess that says something about expectations and the fact that we believe we have to still keep working to reach our ceiling. Tomorrow night will be a huge test for us on the road against the best team we have seen this season. Liberal will be ready for us, and this game will give one team an early advantage in the conference.”
The Lady Demons lone loss of the season came against the #3 team in 3A, Goodland. Goodland is still undefeated, as is the only team to beat Liberal this season, Olathe North (#2 in 6A). Both teams have big post-season goals and Friday night will give them a regular season measuring stick on where they stand, at least in regards to each other. Tip-off for Friday night’s game will be at 6p at Liberal High School. The games will be broadcast live by Sean Boston at 98.1FM and live streamed at dchssports.com.
