Garden City struggles from the field in road loss to Pratt

By Mike Pilosof

Pratt, KS-Incredibly, Garden City knocked off No. 21 Butler Monday night despite being outrebounded by 35. How did they do it? By drilling the second most 3s in a game in program history (14). But 48 hours later, the principal of regression to the mean took hold, and the Broncbusters came falling back down to earth.

Tytiana Haamid grabbed 20 boards, almost singlehandedly outrebounding Garden City, Jordan Mathis finished with 21 points, and Pratt pulled away for a 66-51 victory over the Broncbusters at the Beaver Dome. Garden City finished the night just 4-of-21 from downtown while surrendering 14 offensive rebounds. They were outrebounded 48-27.

"They got more shots up because we couldn't grab the loose ball," Interim Head Coach Mike "Scoop" Harding said after the game. "And as far as our offense, I fell into the trap of us playing at home the other night and hitting those shots. I wanted to see how we would react when our shots weren't falling. And just like I suspected, they put their heads down."

Garden City survived a sloppy first quarter, one that saw them turn the ball over five times and miss nine of their 14 shots. Still, they were up 11-9 going to the second.

"We just couldn't buy a basket," Harding said shaking his head. "It was like, wow!"

Midway through the second, Donetria McGee and Alyssa Boyce sliced their way to the rim, Deborah Ford connected from the left block, and Garden City was up 20-16 with 4:05 remaining the half. Unfortunately, the feel-good story pretty much ended there.

Eva Sanchez responded with a three-point play, Haamid drained two free throws and a layup, Sanchez banked one in from the block, and Dymond McElrath splashed home 3-of-4 freebies to put Pratt up six at the half, 30-24. During that stretch, Garden City was limited to just one field goal over the final 2:45.

"We've just got to get tougher," Harding said. "We need to learn that when shots aren't falling, we need to attack the basket. We didn't do that tonight."

The Broncbusters offensive woes continued in the third. Harding's squad went 4-of-11 (36 percent) from the field and turned the ball over eight times. Still, they were only down one after Boyce dropped in a pair of 3s, and Ariyanna Hall made 1-of-2 free throws. But Pratt responded with a 10-2 run, capped by Sanchez's wide-open 3-pointer from the left corner that gave the Beavers a 45-36 lead going to the fourth. Mathis then scored the first four points of the final period for Pratt, McElrath hit a layup, and the home team was up by 13. They stretched that to as many as 19 in the final two minutes.

"We have to get back in the gym and get up even more shots," Harding said. "I am all about getting up as many shots as you can; game-situations shots."

The Beavers had three players in double figures, led by Mathis, who finished 8-of-13 from the field. Sanchez added 11, and McElrath had 10.

Boyce paced Garden City with 14 points, while Bellany had nine of just 3-of-9 from the floor.

Next up: Garden City vs. Dodge City-Sunday, Jan. 26-1:45 p.m. pregame; 2 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and KWKR mobile app

Pratt, KS-Incredibly, Garden City knocked off No. 21 Butler Monday night despite being outrebounded by 35. How did they do it? By drilling the second most 3s in a game in program history (14). But 48 hours later, the principal of regression to the mean took hold, and the Broncbusters came falling back down to earth.

Tytiana Haamid grabbed 20 boards, almost singlehandedly outrebounding Garden City, Jordan Mathis finished with 21 points, and Pratt pulled away for a 66-51 victory over the Broncbusters at the Beaver Dome. Garden City finished the night just 4-of-21 from downtown while surrendering 14 offensive rebounds. They were outrebounded 48-27.

"They got more shots up because we couldn't grab the loose ball," Interim Head Coach Mike "Scoop" Harding said after the game. "And as far as our offense, I fell into the trap of us playing at home the other night and hitting those shots. I wanted to see how we would react when our shots weren't falling. And just like I suspected, they put their heads down."

Garden City survived a sloppy first quarter, one that saw them turn the ball over five times and miss nine of their 14 shots. Still, they were up 11-9 going to the second.

"We just couldn't buy a basket," Harding said shaking his head. "It was like, wow!"

Midway through the second, Donetria McGee and Alyssa Boyce sliced their way to the rim, Deborah Ford connected from the left block, and Garden City was up 20-16 with 4:05 remaining the half. Unfortunately, the feel-good story pretty much ended there.

Eva Sanchez responded with a three-point play, Haamid drained two free throws and a layup, Sanchez banked one in from the block, and Dymond McElrath splashed home 3-of-4 freebies to put Pratt up six at the half, 30-24. During that stretch, Garden City was limited to just one field goal over the final 2:45.

"We've just got to get tougher," Harding said. "We need to learn that when shots aren't falling, we need to attack the basket. We didn't do that tonight."

The Broncbusters offensive woes continued in the third. Harding's squad went 4-of-11 (36 percent) from the field and turned the ball over eight times. Still, they were only down one after Boyce dropped in a pair of 3s, and Ariyanna Hall made 1-of-2 free throws. But Pratt responded with a 10-2 run, capped by Sanchez's wide-open 3-pointer from the left corner that gave the Beavers a 45-36 lead going to the fourth. Mathis then scored the first four points of the final period for Pratt, McElrath hit a layup, and the home team was up by 13. They stretched that to as many as 19 in the final two minutes.

"We have to get back in the gym and get up even more shots," Harding said. "I am all about getting up as many shots as you can; game-situations shots."

The Beavers had three players in double figures, led by Mathis, who finished 8-of-13 from the field. Sanchez added 11, and McElrath had 10.

Boyce paced Garden City with 14 points, while Bellany had nine of just 3-of-9 from the floor.

Next up: Garden City vs. Dodge City-Sunday, Jan. 26-1:45 p.m. pregame; 2 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and KWKR mobile app