McGee sets career mark in 13-point win over Lamar

By Mike Pilosof

Lamar, CO-In her 55^th game in a Broncbuster uniform, Donetria McGee put together her most complete performance.

The sophomore poured in a career-high 27 points, pulled down eight rebounds, and had five steals, Kealani Neves chipped in 12 points, and Garden City raced past Lamar, 50-37 at the Wellness Center on Tuesday night. The Broncbusters improved to 6-0 for the first time since 2012 and won their fifth straight game by double digits.

"I don't know what it is, but the last two games, we just haven't come to play," Head Coach, Antwain Scales said afterwards. "We are so much better defensively."

Still, the numbers were impressive on that end. Garden City held the Runnin' Lopes to 30 percent shooting (15-of-50), 4-of-19 from downtown (21 percent) and forced 23 turnovers that led to 19 points.

"It was a great night for Nee-Nee (McGee), but we still can play better defensively as a unit," Scales added.

The Broncbusters, who trailed by two at the end of one, broke the game open by outscoring Lamar 20-2 in the second quarter. Garden City netted the first 18 points of the period thanks to McGee's banker in the paint and Neves's driving layup and 3-pointer that put the visitors up, 31-15 with 1:27 left in the half.  Then in the waning seconds of the quarter, Ashton McCorry found McGee, who cut backdoor for an easy layup that gave Garden City a 33-17 advantage going into the locker room.

So, how good was the Broncbuster defense during that 10-minute stretch? Well, they limited Lamar to 1-of-11 shooting in the quarter and held them scoreless for the first 9:35 of the period before Cristina Rojas's layup ended the drought.

"We never take any opponent lightly," Scales explained. "Lamar is extremely well coached. We just have to continue to take care of the things that we can control."

But just like Monday night in Trinidad, the Broncbusters struggled offensively in the third. Garden City misfired on 14 of their 19 shots and bricked all four of their 3-point attempts. Still, they built a 19-point cushion in the period and led by as many as 20 late in the fourth following McGee's offensive rebound and stick back that made it, 49-29.

McGee finished the night 10-of-16 from the field and 7-of-11 from the line for Garden City, which won on a night where their bench managed only three points. Neves, who couldn't miss 24 hours earlier, was just 5-of-18 in 35 minutes. McCorry added four points, three rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

Althea Kara Angeles was the lone Lamar player in double figures but was just 4-of-13 from the floor.

Next up: Garden City at Independence-Saturday, Nov. 27-2 p.m.