Buster women storm back; take down Clarendon
Clarendon, TX-Whatever motivational tactic Garden City Head Coach Nick Salazar used in the final 15 minutes of Thursday’s showdown with Clarendon, should be patented and be put on inspirational videos from coast to coast.
Loysha Morris dropped in a game-high 29 points; 24 of those coming in the second half as Garden City turned a 13-point deficit into a 78-66 runaway victory over the Lady Bulldogs.
“Well certainly, if there’s a definition of taking a game over, we just saw it,” Salazar said afterwards. “Loysha was incredible. What can you say?”
Well the word breathtaking comes to mind-considering Morris had the same amount of fouls (2) as she did field goals in the first 20 minutes. But with her team facing a double-digit deficit, the sophomore went to work.
With just under 16 minutes to play, Garden City (4-2, 0-0) flipped the switch-outscoring Clarendon (5-3, 0-0) 27-12 and holding the Lady Bulldogs without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes.
“Look what happens when you play defense,” Salazar said with a smirk. “We guarded all over the place.”
That defense held Clarendon to just 6-of-30 from the field over the final 20 minutes. And Amy Alfeld, who torched the Busters for 15 in the first half, was held to just four points on 1-of-5 shooting in the second.
Morris, who notched her third straight 20-point game, knocked down a midrange jumper to give Garden City a 58-56 advantage with 7:40 remaining. They would never trail again en route to their fourth straight victory.
“I felt like we still left a lot of plays out on the floor,” Salazar said. “If we could guard the way we did in the second half, then I will be confident to say we can play with any team in our conference.”
Taleah Williams notched her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Tionnia McKee and Tori Spann each netted nine points apiece.
Brinti Parker scored 11 points and pulled down six rebounds for Clarendon. Ja’lee Carver went a perfect 8-of-8 from the line and finished with 10 points.
Next up: Garden City vs. Otero-Tuesday, November 18-5:15 p.m .pregame; 5:30 p.m. tip on AM 1030 KBUF; kbufmobile.com and mobile app: KBUF
