Lady Busters Storm Past Cowley For Season Sweep

GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Head coach Greg Franklin is still learning new ways to dissect basketball, even after 400 wins at the NJCAA level.

A phrase he heard from a friend earlier on Wednesday was teams taking ‘good shots, great shots, and the best shots’ on possessions. For the second straight game, there were a lot of ‘best shots’ for his team.

Franklin’s Garden City Broncbusters took home their second straight game, sweeping the Cowley Tigers, 76-61. The Lady Busters shot nearly 51 percent as a team, the second straight game they’ve hit over half of their shots.

“[We had] 24 assists, the other night we had 21. That tells you we’re doing a little bit better sharing the ball, taking better shots,” Franklin said. “We finally figured out how to finish a game in style, and do it with each other, instead of by ourselves.”

It wasn’t all easy for Garden City (12-10, 7-10 KJCCC) as Cowley’s Ndack Mbengue started the game hot. The sophomore center scored her team’s first eight points, going a perfect three-for-three from the floor. GCCC played some great defense in the first frame, forcing seven early turnovers.

Cowley (11-12, 5-12 KJCCC) is normally one of the more mature teams in the conference with the basketball. The Tigers entered Wednesday night committing the third-fewest turnovers in the KJCCC, but committed 25 at Conestoga Arena.

Garden City forced 28 against the Tigers earlier this season.

“It feels really good, because we’ve been putting in the work in practice,” Broncbusters’ forward Antonicia Moultrie said. “We’ve been dedicated to improving.”

The lead would change three times going into the fourth, Moultrie was a big reason Garden City stayed ahead. Her fourth-quarter blocks on Mbengue and Anna Pryzlak were keys to keep GCCC ahead.

Moultrie finished with eight points, eight rebounds, four steals, and three blocks.

Good defense turned into great offense for the Busters’ final 10 minutes. Garden City blitzed Cowley with a 25-8 fourth. It was one of the Broncbusters’ best quarters of the season, shooting 72.7 percent on offense while forcing 13 missed field goals on defense.
“I liked our time and score clock management,” Franklin praised. “Everybody helped each other, and that’s what it takes when it comes down to the very end.”

Four different Garden City players finished in double-figures. All six players who checked in finished with at least eight points.

The Broncbusters begin a three-game road trip on Saturday, starting with the No. 21 Butler Grizzlies in El Dorado. Coverage will be found on 1030 AM and 107.1 FM KBUF, due to conflict with Garden City High School’s games against Hooker (Ok.). Tipoff is slated for 2:00 P.M.

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