Western Nebraska hands Garden City first loss

By Mike Pilosof

Liberal, KS-After an impressive opening-day performance, the Broncbusters ran into a buzz saw on Saturday. More specifically, it was a fourth-quarter to forget.

Western Nebraska used an 19-1 run to begin the final period before outscoring Garden City 36-12 in the fourth, as the Cougars handed the Broncbusters their first loss of the season, 96-59 in the second day of the Seward County Classic at the Green House.

Garden City trailed by two after one and eight at the half. But in the third, Evan Langton and Tishara Morehouse hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Western Nebraska a 14-point edge. Morehouse came back with a driving layup that stretched it to 16. They had a 13-point cushion at the end of the frame.

The Broncbusters had a brief lead in the opening quarter when Talia Roberts completed a three-point play. Alyssa Boyce followed with a jumper, and Garden City had a three-point advantage. But the Cougars responded with seven straight points, closing the quarter on a 15-10 spurt.

Western Nebraska punished Garden City inside, outscoring them 48-18. They also turned 25 offensive rebounds into 27 second-chance points. The Broncbusters shot just 38 percent from the field and were 4-of-11 from 3. Roberts scored 25 points in 31 minutes. She 9-of-14 shooting and 4-of-6 from 3. The rest of the team was a combined 7-of-39 (18 percent) and 0-for-7 from deep.