Poor shooting haunts Garden City in 13-point loss to rival Dodge

By Mike Pilosof

Photos by Adam Shrimplin

Garden City, KS-At some point, Garden City's poor shooting was going to catch up with them. And boy did it ever on Sunday afternoon.

Ashia Pool scored 19 points and dished out five assists, Sydney Thurwalker had 12 points and 20 boards, and Dodge City limited Garden City to just 26 percent shooting (20-of-77) in a 70-57 win at Conestoga Arena.

"We just have to find ways to shoot better," Broncbusters Interim Head Coach Mike "Scoop" Harding said after the game. "We couldn't get anything to fall."

Garden City dropped their second straight game and shot under 40 percent for the 13^th time this season. It was the third they were held under 30.

"I think we got a little too comfortable after the Butler game with our shots," Harding said.

Garden City misfired on 16 of their first 20 from the field and were down by nine two minutes into the second quarter after Thurwalker got loose for a layup. But Harding's team finally found some rhythm. Ariynna Hall drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key followed by a midrange pullup, Corina Suarez-Tudela swished a 15-footer, and Hall connected on two free throws to put the Broncbusters in front 28-26 with 3:22 remaining.

"I thought we had some pretty good stretches in the game," Harding said. "But more often than not, it wasn't good enough."

Garden City didn't score again the rest of the quarter, Thurwalker easily got to the rim, and the Conquistadors rattled off the final six points of the half to take a 32-28 advantage into the locker room.

"We just have to be better in all areas," Harding added.

Garden City was down three after three, and trailed by eight early in the fourth. That's when Hall came to life again, draining back-to-back long balls, Deborah Ford finished off an and-1 layup, and the Broncbusters were within three, 60-57 with 1:38 left. But that's as close as they got the rest of the way. Dodge City closed the game on a 10-0 run (all five of those baskets were layups), and the Conquistadors polished off a 13-point victory.

Dodge City outrebounded Garden City 48-40 and had 16 assists on their 28 made field goals. Faith Cattouse chipped in 15 points in 26 minutes for the Conquistadors, who snapped a five-game losing streak. Alana Busby-Dunphy added 12.

Hall was the lone Broncbuster in double figures with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting. The rest of the team though combined to score 38 on 14-of-63 from the field (22 percent).

Next up: Garden City at Colby, Wed., Jan. 29-5:15 p.m. pregame; 5:30 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and KWKR mobile app