Turnovers costly; Busters fall in El Dorado
Audio Highlights: GCCC vs. Butler
El Dorado, Kan (westernkansasnews.com)-With a 4 1/2 hour drive home, Nick Salazar and his coaching staff had plenty of time to reflect on what could have been Tuesday night.
Sophomore Te’era Williams notched a double-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds and the Butler defense forced 23 Garden City turnovers as the Grizzlies beat the Busters in a non-conference showdown at the Power Plant 66-50.
“They’re a great defensive team,” Salazar said. “But I thought we handled their pressure well. They really couldn’t stay in front of us. We just didn’t execute.”
Garden City (3-6) kept it close in the first half, hitting five of their first 10 shots. But they closed the period hitting just 3-of-10 (0-for-8 from three) and trailed 35-19 at the half.
The lead ballooned to 19 early in the second half before Shaqunna Collins took over. The sophomore, who finished with 14 points in 36 minutes, ignited the Buster attack-cutting the Grizzlies lead to eight.
Butler (10-1) responded with their own 9-0 run, and by the time Salazar and Assistant Coach Whitney Corley looked up, their team was in a 26-point hole with under seven minutes to play.
“You have to play perfect against them,” Salazar said. “And we are not perfect. When you don’t have people that can just score the ball whenever they want, it makes it extremely tough.”
It also didn’t help that Zantaya Davis was saddled with foul trouble. The transfer from Middle Tennessee State, played only five minutes-fouling out scoreless for the first time this season.
Next up: Garden City vs. New Mexico-Friday, November 29-5:15 pm pregame…5:30 tip on AM 1030 KBUF and westernkansasnews.com/kbuf
Final Stats: GCCC vs. Butler
