Broncbusters WBB Smokes Independence, Improves to 7-0
Garden City Community College womens basketball team hosted Northern Oklahoma College on Friday, November 10, 2023 in Enid, Ok. The Lady Busters defeated the Mavericks 63 - 57. Photo credits; Adam Shrimplin, Shrimplin Photography
Independence, KS. – Onslaught. Domination. Outright excellence from head coach Greg Franklin’s unit.
Garden City made a huge statement to the Jayhawk Conference on Tuesday, bringing their brand of basketball into a tough place to play.
The Garden City Broncbusters improved to 7-0 on the season, downing the Independence Pirates, 83-49, at Firstoak Bank & Oakes Family Fieldhouse on Tuesday. Four Broncbusters scored in double-figures, who led from the 11-9 mark onwards for over 35 minutes.
“I thought we played extremely hard,” Franklin said. “We got some things out of some people I’ve been looking for.”
The game started sloppy, with more turnovers than points in the first four minutes. Eventually, Garden City started to find their flow defensively, holding Independence to just four-of-13 to open the ball game.
Sariah “Boxer” Conley was a consistent pice throughout, scoring a career-high 16 points on nine shots. The Freshman recorded four assists in the win, impressing on both sides of the ball.
“I cant say enough about Boxer tonight about what she did for our group,” Franklin said. “You could call her Elmer’s… because she was a glue. She did a lot of good things.”
The Broncbusters (7-0, 2-0 KJCCC) have excelled this season when they get out in transition, and began to run the floor well after the under five media timeout. Freshman Sierra “C.C.” Driessen recorded three steals in the first quarter, and recorded two fast break layups to bring GCCC’s lead to 16-12 after one.
The second quarter saw more of the same. Garden City started the second on an 8-2 run, bringing their lead to double-figures off an Ana Ramos Pires layup.
The Brazilian was phenomenal in the first half, scoring a game-high 11 points with six rebounds, including her first career triple.
The only aspect that was better in the first half was Garden City’s ball movement. The Broncbusters assisted on 11 of their first 16 shots, taking a 37-22 lead into the break.
Garden City started the second half on the same note, getting off to a 10-1 run in the third to build their lead to 24. Stevi Yancy’s three-point play took the life out of Independence (5-2, 0-2 KJCCC) fans at the Field House.
“When we have balanced scoring like that, you can’t center in on one person,” Franklin said. “I tell our kids all the time, I’ve had kids average five or six points a game, and go to Fresno State. It’s just a matter of you being the best player in your niche, in our system, completely.”
Maya Nieto caught fire with 11 second-half points to truly take the wind out of the Pirates’ sails. The Broncbusters would double up Indy three separate times, pulling away for a 34-point victory.
The Broncbusters will return home for their third conference matchup on Saturday, as they welcome the Pratt Beavers to Conestoga Arena. Coverage begins at 1:40 P.M. on 99.9 ‘The Rock’, tip-off is slated for 2:00.
