Garden City's postseason hopes alive after OT win over Northwest Tech

By Mike Pilosof

Photos by Adam Shrimplin

Garden City, KS-In two games vs. Northwest Tech this season, Interim Head Coach Mike "Scoop" Harding has aged about 30 years. But in the end he'll take it, as his team kept their postseason hopes alive.

Alyssa Boyce scored 12 of her team-high 20 points in the second half, Ariyanna Hall dropped in 19 off the bench, and Garden City came back from 10 down in the fourth quarter to beat the Mavericks 76-72 in overtime Monday night at Conestoga Arena.

"We finally found something that clicked on defense in the second half," Harding said. "Ariyanna was great tonight. She was very frustrated in the first half. I told her she needed to stay positive. And she responded."

With the win, the Broncbusters moved up to seventh in the Jayhawk West. And despite having the same conference record as Northwest Tech, Garden City is a game up because of the tiebreaker.

"I want to get to the postseason tournament for these girls," Harding said. "It's been a crazy year."

And it's been a crazy couple of games against Northwest Tech.

For the second time this season, the Broncbusters couldn't contain Lauryn Vieira. The freshman point-guard's dribble penetration kept collapsing the Broncbuster defense, and it didn't matter who was guarding her. She scored 14 points in the second half before fouling out. She nailed a buzzer-beating 3 to end the third quarter that put the Mavericks up eight; then scored two quick buckets in the fourth including a breakaway layup where she let Dasja Ross fly by before kissing it off the glass, putting Northwest Tech up 50-40 with 6:45 to go. But like it did in the first meeting between these two programs, the light bulb finally went on when it mattered most for Garden City.

Hall canned a pair of triples, finished off a three-point play and scored on a second-chance opportunity, tying the game at 54 with 1:15 remaining. After the Mavericks stretched the lead back to three, Donetria McGee swished 1-of-2 free throws to make it a two-point contest.

Northwest Tech though left the door wide open when Kiara Tharpe missed two freebies with 10 seconds to play. Then, following a timeout, Tharpe fouled Ross on the block. The sophomore buried both free throws, McGee blocked Zantasia White's floater in the paint at the buzzer, and the game headed to overtime.

"We just kind of drew that last play up in the sand where we got Dasja the two free throws," Harding said. "We needed someone to get open, and it worked out for us."

Hall stayed hot in the extra session, making a layup to start the period; then hitting another to put the Broncbusters up five, 66-61 with 2:10 to play. Jaleah Bellany, who sat out the Hutchinson game on Saturday, dropped in a couple of free throws, and Garden City led 71-64 with 39 seconds.  

But apparently no lead is safe in this series. Jada Russel quickly answered with a 3; then after Ross's inbounds pass was intercepted by Yverline Da Silva, the freshman post sprinted to the top of the key and knocked in just her second 3 of the season to make it a one-point game with 10 seconds remaining.

"Turnovers killed us all night," Harding said. "That's something we have to clean up."

Northwest Tech had a chance to steal the game late after Hall missed the second of two free throws. But after Da Silva grabbed the rebound, she handed it off to Russell, who was called for a double dribble. Josie Cook then fouled Bellany, who hit two free throws, and Garden City survived another scare from the Mavericks.

"We were sped up again way too many times tonight," Harding added. "But we got away with it. I think our girls are seeing that they can do some things. So we'll see."

Garden City outrebounded Northwest Tech 38-37, marking only the fourth time this season that they've won the battle on the glass. They also turned 21 Maverick turnovers into 24 points, and outscored the visitors 42-34 in the paint.

McGee scored 16 points for Garden City, who snapped a six-game losing streak. Bellany finished with 12 points, a season-high eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in 32 minutes.

Russell paced Northwest Tech with 22 points, four dimes and a season-high six steals. Da Silva posted her second double-double of the year with 11 points and 10 boards.

But as good as the close was, Garden City's offense was anemic in the first half.

After building a five-point lead following Dashanae Pajeaud's 3 that made it 9-4 with 4:51 to play in the first, Garden City watched Northwest Tech close the period on a 12-5 run, capped with Russell's triple from the top of the key. In the second quarter, the Broncbusters were up by three before they fell asleep in the final 20 seconds, yielding a layup to Da Silva and another one to White off their 13^th turnover of the half. The Mavericks led 25-24 at the break.

Next up: Garden City vs. Pratt-Wednesday, Feb. 12-5:45 p.m. pregame; 6 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkanasnews.com/kwkr and KWKR mobile app