Seward County takes two from Busters

Garden City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Playing in the middle of a grueling three-game stretch in five days, Garden City returned home to face a pair of nationally-ranked Seward County squads. In the end, the Busters were unable to pull off an upset, as the Lady Busters fell 68-60, while a big second half doomed the Buster men in a 90-69 setback.

No. 11 Seward County Women 68, Garden City 60
Shorthanded Garden City gave the Lady Saints all they could handle, and had a chance all the way to the end. Seward County would lead most of the way, and grow a 24-17 lead after the first period of play. In the second quarter, the Lady Saints went on a 15-4 run to go up 39-23 with 3:49 left in the first half. Garden City (9-8, 4-4) would find a way to pull to within 12 at 44-32 at the break.
The Lady Busters would frustrate Seward County (14-2, 6-1) in the third quarter. In fact, the Lady Saints would score only one point in the third quarter, as a 14-1 run gave Garden City a 46-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Lady Busters found themselves in the mist of a 9-2 run to lead 55-49 with 4:52 left. That’s when the Seward County offense came to life. A 19-5 run would close the game out for the Lady Saints, as they won their eighth straight at 68-60. Garden City pulled to within 63-60 with 42 seconds left, only to see Seward County get a dagger three pointer from Silvia Veloso to give them the six-point lead.
Three Lady Saints finished in double figures, led by Carla Covane with 20 points, while Silvia Veloso had 11 points and Karolina Szydlowska had 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Seward County shot 28-62 for the game and were 6-23 on three’s.Garden City was led by Jaleah Bellany with 20 points on 5-8 three-point shooting, 13 from Alyssa Boys and 12 points and 13 rebounds by Das’Monique Johnson. The Lady Busters shot 38.5% for the game at 20-52, and were 13-16 at the foul line. Seward County won the rebounding battle 36-27.

Coach Charinee Mitchell Postgame

No. 19 Seward County Men 90, Garden City 69
For the first 25 minutes of the game, the Broncbuster men were very much apart of the game. Unfortunately for Garden City, the Saints would hardly miss from the floor in the second half. The Busters led early on 6-2, before Seward County would use a 16-8 run to lead 18-14 with 7:57 left in the half. Garden City (7-10, 2-6) would never lead the rest of the night. While they never led the rest of the way, they had their chances, trailing by no more than five in the first half, and trailed 35-30 at the break.
Everytime the Busters would try to mount a comeback, Seward County (13-3, 6-1) would respond. Garden City would get as close as 48-44 with 14:40 left, and that’s when things went south for the Busters. The Saints scored the next nine points to lead 57-44 with 12:54 left. That Seward County run would balloon into a 28-6 run over the next six minutes at 76-50 with eight minutes left. The Saints led by 27 at the 4:33 mark at 85-58, before settling for a 90-69 road win. It would be the most points given up at home by Garden City this year.

Reggie Miller led the way with 23 points, while Marco Morency had 21 points off the bench. Montrevion Flowers had 15 and Devin Bethely added 12 for Seward County. The Saints shot 78% in the second half at 21-17 and were 35-52 for 67% for the game. They hit 12 three’s. Garden City was led by Tony Hopkins with 15 points. The Busters shot a good percentage for the game at 50%, going 25-50. They were 16-24 at the foul line and had 19 turnovers.

Coach Patrick Nee Postgame

Up Next for Garden City is their third pair of nationally ranked teams in five days, as they face the Hutchinson Blue Dragons Wednesday night at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.