Strong second half pushes Garden City past Northwest Tech

By Mike Pilosof

Garden City, KS-Talia Roberts is adhering to her coach's advice.

The sophomore is taking better shots, and the results speak for themselves.

Roberts scored 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting, Daz'Monique Johnson notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards, and Garden City blew out Northwest Tech 71-55.

"It's getting late, and you have to learn how to dig deep," Head Coach Charinee Mitchell said. "We found it again at the end and turned it up."

The Broncbusters struggled to gain traction early in the game. But midway through the first, they found their stride, using a 10-2 run, capped by Alyssa Boyce's layup that put Garden City up 19-11. They were up five at the end of one.

"We need to be more consistent on getting stops and turning them into points," Mitchell said.

The Mavericks made a push in the second period, pulling to within two on Josie Cook's made free throw. But the Broncbusters responded with an 8-2 blitz over the final 2:51 and led 34-26 at the intermission.

"I know it was an early afternoon game," Mitchell said. "But we can't be worried about what's going on in the stands. We just need to play basketball."

Neither team could buy a basket in the third quarter, with both failing to score a single point until Boyce nailed a 16 footer to put Garden City up 36-26 with 5:01 to go in the frame. Garden City eventually built the lead to 17 on Roberts layup with 13 seconds to play in the period, giving the home squad a 51-34 cushion going to the fourth.

"We just have to figure out a way to keep these kids going," Mitchell said.

Roberts came out aggressive in the fourth, making a layup and then nailing a 3 to put the Broncbusters up 22. After Northwest Tech cut the lead to 14, Roberts iced the game with another layup and trey, giving Garden City their second straight victory.

The Broncbusters shot 45 percent from the floor and finished 7-of-17 from downtown. Boyce scored 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting and had four steals.

N'Dea Flye led all scorers with 27 points in 40 minutes for Northwest Tech. Josie Cook chipped in 16.

Next up: Garden City at Colby-Wednesday, Feb. 19