Youthful Lady Demons surprise as WAC champs

Dodge City’s Becca Unruh named POY

When the 2022-23 basketball season got under way in December, Dodge City High School Lady Red Demons’ coach Kelley Snodgrass knew that she would have to count on what seniors she did have to become even stronger leaders.

And while the overall season of 10 wins and 11 losses felt like a roller-coaster to Snodgrass and her team, the eight-game double round-robin schedule in the Western Athletic Conference proved to be a respite for the Demons.

That’s because they finished with a 6-2 record, and defeating their main rival, Liberal, twice by three points each time (32-29 and 35-32) that provided them with the same mark as the Lady Red but the tiebreaker came by virtue of their two wins.

In claiming the WAC title, the Lady Demons also saw their youth show up in losses to Great Bend and Hays, but when it came time to determine the WAC champion in the final regular season game, it was Dodge City four-year starter and senior Becca Unruh who hit the game-winning 3-pointer with just a couple of ticks left on the clock.

“We had little varsity experience returning, so one of the big things we tried to do was look at where our strengths were,” said Snodgrass, who just completed her 11th season with the Red Demons. “Through the highs and lows, we found that our toughness on defense was what we had to rely on. We had to control tempo against teams and I think the girls figured that out. We played a tough non-conference schedule and I think that helped us a lot.

Bringing just a couple of upperclassmen together to lead a majority of underclassmen can sometimes be challenging, but Snodgrass said that’s part of the fun and challenge of coaching at the high school level.

“You get different types of players through the years and you have to make coaching adjustments to the skills of the players you have,” Snodgrass said. “I think when you look at our season, we were in a lot of close games and sometimes we came out with a win and other times we came out with a loss.”

Snodgrass credited WAC Player of the Year Becca Unruh for being the leader in the transition year and said that skill will benefit the next two or three years for the program.

“Becca had to become not only our floor general as she had been, but we had to run our offense through her, too,” said Snodgrass. “She had always guarded the other team’s best player and I think she embraced the changes to put us in a position to succeed.”

Snodgrass also credits the family atmosphere that has come to define the Red Demons during her tenure in Dodge City.

“We just want every player to feel like they are part of a bigger family,” Snodgrass said. “We always believed we were one team and hung our hats on that defensive mentality. We had to play to our strengths and minimize our weaknesses.”

BECCA UNRUH, DODGE CITY, 5-7 SR. GUARD – WAC GIRLS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

When Dodge City senior guard Becca Unruh spoke with her Head Coach, Kelley Snodgrass, on the Monday following the end of the Lady Demons’ season, she wasn’t sure what message she would be receiving.

In this case, the news was good – Unruh, a 5-7 point guard, had been voted Western Athletic Conference Girls’ Player of the Year.

“Honestly, I was a little shocked because I knew it would be a hard goal to achieve,” Unruh said in a telephone interview. “There are many other talented players in the league, so this is such a blessing.”

Unruh was the floor general and off-court leader for a young Red Demon team that went 6-2 in the WAC, tying Liberal for the best record but capturing the team championship by virtue of two wins over the Lady Red.

“Winning WAC felt great because Liberal has been the competition for us to be at the top of the league,” Unruh said.

In her senior year, Unruh took on additional responsibilities with her young, inexperienced team (only one other senior starter). She added more scoring to her repertoire, nearly doubling her scoring average from 7.8 points per game to 13.8 in her final season. 

Having played and started the majority of games all four years, Unruh leaves the DCHS program as the all-time winningest Lady Demon with 66 wins against just 22 losses. The 88 games played ties her with her older sister, Kisa, for a career. She ranks in the top five in career and season 3-point field goals made (134/46), free throw percentage (75.0%) and assists (201).

Unruh said this season provided nearly equal portions of highs and lows with some tough losses, such as an overtime setback to Hays in which she missed a shot at the buzzer; but also the highs where she drilled a 3-pointer with 0:01 left to defeat Liberal on the road that provided them with the WAC championship.

“We worked hard all season to be the best team we could be,” Unruh said. “I think we competed hard and never gave up in any game.”

Taking on the additional roles as the leader on and off the court provided Unruh growth as a player and a person, she said.

“Being a senior leader was a lot bigger than I realized,” Unruh said. “I’d never been a leader vocally but I think it has made me a better person and certainly a better player. Leading the younger ones was fun and I think they will have others step up in the future.”

During her career, Unruh compiled 741 points, 199 rebounds, 201 assists and 118 steals. She had career high games of 26 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals. 

For her first two years in a Dodge City uniform, she played with her older sister, now at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Next year, the younger Unruh will join her older sibling once again and will have two more seasons to be a teammate. Kisa, a No. 2 off guard, had scored more than 1,000 points in her career as the two played different positions.

“I think as the point guard you try to put your teammates in position where they will succeed,” Unruh said of her role. “You have to be the person that gives up some things to do more things for the team.”

Snodgrass said that Unruh has a high IQ for the game and believes that has benefited her and the team in so many different ways.

“She comes in and looks at film and we talk about X’s and O’s and what we can do to be better prepared for an opponent,” Snodgrass said.

Unruh concurred that she has spent her lifetime being a student of the game.

“I think one of my strong points is that I tend to know what to do and when to do it,” she said. “I see things quicker than most and it’s one of my better assets.”

Now that she’s finished her prep career, Unruh is ready to move on to the next level and join her older sister.

“We’ve always had a great connection on and off the court, so I’m excited to see what this next chapter will bring,” the younger Unruh said. “She helped me to learn not to show emotion on the court because nothing ever affected her mood.”

While focusing on her basketball career, Unruh plans to work toward a degree in Business Sports Management where she might consider a career in coaching or being an athletic director.

“It’s what I know best,” she said when talking about athletics. “I want to enjoy it (college) no matter what.”

Unruh was joined on the first team all-WAC by Liberal’s Hailey Contreras, Hays’ Carly Lang, Great Bend’s Mersadie Spray and Garden City’s Amaya Gallegos. Snodgrass was voted Coach of the Year.

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First-Team All-Conference Selections

	NAME	YEAR	SCHOOL
1	*Becca Unruh	12	Dodge City
2	Hailey Contreras	11	Liberal
3	Carly Lang	12	Hays
4	Mersadie Spray	11	Great Bend
5	Amaya Gallegos	12	Garden City

Second-Team All-Conference Selections

	NAME	YEAR	SCHOOL
1	Easha Potts	11	Dodge City
2	Keyona Hall	11	Liberal
3	Rylie Hallman	12	Liberal
4	Molly Martin	10	Hays
5	K.J. Pinchon	9	Garden City