Broncbusters can't overcome slow start in loss to No. 9 Dodge City

Garden City, KS-After climbing out of an early 14-point hole, the Broncbusters had chances to slam the door on the ninth-ranked team in the country. But in the end, rebounds and turnovers cost Garden City mightily.  

Shorna Preston had 14 points and 12 rebounds, Tayah Morgan hit four backbreaking 3s, and Dodge City topped the Broncbusters, 61-55 Wednesday night at Conestoga Arena.  

Sophomore, Antonicia Moultrie posted her third 20-point game of the season for Garden City, which dropped their third straight game to fall to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in league play.  She finished with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting. The rest of the team though was just 11-of-38 (29 percent) combined.  

It wasn't the start that Greg Franklin envisioned. 

The Broncbusters missed their first seven shots and trailed 14-0. It wasn't until Sierra Driessen connected on a left-corner 3 with 4:04 remaining in the first that Garden City finally cracked the scoreboard. That one shot finally got the home team going, and the Broncbusters responded with a 20-6 run over the next 10 minutes. When Moultrie swished a pair of free throws, Garden City had tied the game at 20. After the teams exchanged 3-pointers, Moultrie banked in a transition layup to give the Broncbusters their first lead of the game, 25-23 with 2:43 to go.  

But the Conquistadors answered right back. Layla-J Cameron drilled a triple, and Morane Dossou beat Ana Ramos Pires to the rim, giving Dodge City a 30-27 edge going into the locker room.  

Garden City was down two after three quarters and trailed by six midway through the fourth. But the Broncbusters never went away. Bruna Costa Da Silva hit two free throws, Moultrie spun home a two-footer, and Driessen sank a pair of freebies to make it a two-point game. But as was the case for most of the night, Garden City was caught in an over rotation on defense, which resulted in Preston's wide-open 3 that gave Dodge City a 58-53 lead with 3:43 remaining.  

The Broncbusters managed just a single basket the rest of the way.  

Driessen and Jolie Mantz combined for 20 points for Garden City, but they were just 5-of-16 from the field collectively.  The Broncbusters also turned the ball over 23 times equaling a season high. 

Meantime Dodge City, which improved to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in the Jayhawk, won the game despite 35 turnovers. They shot 48 percent from the field and 8-of-23 on 3s. Cameron finished with 12 points in 33 minutes.