Roberts' season high leads Garden City past Allen

By Mike Pilosof

Garden City, KS-Slow start with a strong finishing touch; that's not exactly how Charinee Mitchell drew it up. But in the end, she'll take it.

Talia Roberts scored a season-high 29 points, Jaleah Bellany came off the bench to score 14, and Garden City destroyed Allen 82-60 at Conestoga Arena.

"Talia is a scoring point guard," Mitchell said. "She was big for us today. Hopefully she can just maintain what she's doing."

Roberts scored 20 points in the second half as her team outscored the Red Devils 53-34; turning a three-point halftime lead into a 22-point rout. And it started with a 17-4 third-quarter run that opened up a 15-point advantage once Bellany completed a three-point play. She added another and-1 in the early stages of the fourth quarter, Felicity Houston, Taneigh Boyd and Kelcy McHenry followed with layups, and the Broncbusters had a 62-47 edge with 7:03 remaining. They eventually built that to 21 when Roberts was fouled shooting a 3. She hit all three free throws to make it 78-57.

"We have a lot of players that play the same position," Mitchell said. "So, I know we were in foul trouble, and it's not okay that they were, but we have players that can step in for them."

It took Garden City some time to find their rhythm. Ariel Walker got around Roberts for a layup, giving Allen a seven-point lead, 24-17, with 4:39 left in the first half. But the Broncbusters came right back. Roberts hit a scoop shot and then a jumper; Dashanae Pajeaud connected on a layup, and Garden City, thanks to a 10-0 spurt, took a three-point advantage. They were up 29-26 at the intermission.

Roberts finished 9-of-20 from the floor, with six assists, one steal and five rebounds. Alyssa Boyce added 11 and Bellany nailed two 3's off the bench.

Walker paced the Red Devils with 19 points and six boards in 38 minutes. ChrisAlee Patterson and Alecia Verge combined for 21 but were a combined 8-of-21 from the field.

Next up: Garden City vs. Trinidad State-Wednesday, Dec. 5-5:45 p.m. pregame; 6 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and KWKR mobile app