SALINA, Kan. – For the second time since joining the field in 2016, the Buhler girls reached Saturday’s championship game at the Salina Invitational Tournament.
The Crusaders advanced to the title game by virtue of a narrow 54-50 win in Friday’s semifinals over Salina South. Buhler won much more comfortably in the opening round on Thursday, pulling away from Abilene in the second half, 67-44.
5A power Andover proved to be a formidable opponent in Saturday’s finale. Buhler put up a good and trailed by just seven points going into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the Crusaders were in foul trouble for much of the game, including in the fourth quarter. Late free throws helped Andover to a 61-48 win and a third consecutive SIT championship.
Natalya Krafels led Buhler in scoring with 16 points. The senior had a stellar tournament. Her three-game total of 66 points is good for third on the all-time SIT scoring list.
Krafels and fellow senior Gracie Oard were named to the all-tournament team. Oard finished with 34 points, including 10 on Saturday.
Scoring
Buhler: 10 | 9 | 18 | 11 (48)
Natalya Krafels (16), Gracie Oard (10), Nyah Sewell (8), Sammie Brooks (5), Charlie Baxter (5), Tori Tustian (2), Ella Voss (2)
Andover: 15 | 14 | 15 | 17 (61)
Bella Bouddhara (20), Aliyah Green (18), Asiah Sullivan (12), Brodie Christensen (4), Samantha Siegrist (3), Regan Dusenbery (2), Grier Hand (2)
Buhler boys
The Buhler boys rebounded from back-to-back tournament losses to Salina Central and Wichita South on Thursday and Friday, and claimed a 58-51 victory over Wamego in Saturday’s seventh place game. Wamego held a narrow lead before a 10-2 run helped Buhler to secure the win in the fourth quarter.
Free throws most certainly played a major part in Buhler’s Success. Five Crusaders combined to go 17 of 19 from the charity stripe.
Jacob Miller led Buhler in scoring with 22 points. The junior finished the week with 31 points and was named to the all-tournament team.
Scoring
Buhler: 20 | 17 | 11 |10 (58)
Jacob Miller (22), Jared Miller (9), Mitchel McDaniel (9), Isaiah Heredia (6), Asher Zachary (5), McCade Zachary (3), Luke Holmberg (2), Julian Morrison (2)
Wamego: 11 | 20 | 18 | 2 (51)
Jackson Tupps (12), Gavin Marquardt (8), Caiden Newell (7), Jace Johnson (6) Slade Smith (6), Braxton Williams (5), Regan Kueker (4), Reed McDiffett (3)
