Women's 2021 Basketball Preview

The 2019-20 season didn't exactly play out according to plan. After just two years, Charinee Mitchell, who had helped stabilize the program, resigned as Head Coach in the summer to take a job at Lamar University. A couple of months later, former Athletic Director, Greg McVey, handed the keys over to first-time Head Coach, Omega Tandy, beginning a string of events that would reshape the history of the program.

What ensued was one of the most forgettable seasons in recent memory. Following a triple overtime loss to Cowley at home on Dec. 7, Tandy was suspended. McVey coached the Broncbusters in a 13-point loss to Coffeyville on Dec. 11. Then men's assistant Mike "Scoop" Harding, took the reigns at the beginning of the second semester after Tandy resigned, taking his lumps along the way, which included a 65-point loss to Seward County on Jan. 13. At the same time, Tandy's two assistant coaches, Londaryl Perry and Todd Perdas also left, leaving Harding as the lone man on the bench.

Following the Seward County game, there were even discussions about potentially canceling the women's season. The locker room wasn't in a great place and Harding had no help.

"It's definitely been a strange year," Harding admitted back in Feb.

Despite those internal talks, administrators pushed forward. Harding even led Garden City to their most impressive win of the season: a two-point victory over No. 21 Butler on Jan. 20.  But the Broncbusters could never string consecutive games together, losing their final three contests of the season including a 79-65 defeat to Coffeyville in the first round of the Region VI Tournament.

Then came the offseason, one headlined by a global pandemic. But despite a landscape filled with unknowns, the Broncbusters managed to hire a man who had a history of revitalizing programs.

Antwain Scales turned one of the worst girls' basketball teams in the state Wichita South, into four-time state champions while posting a 53-game winning streak. In 2017, he accepted a new challenge, taking over the women's program at Colby Community College, a team drowning in nearly two-decades worth of futility. And after winning just eight games in his first season, Scales won 19 last year, guiding the Trojans to their first winning season since 2006.

"Coach Scales has a history of success," College President, Dr. Ryan Ruda said. "We feel like he can turn this thing around quickly."

Scales wasted no time assembling his roster. He first brought back reigning conference defensive player of the year, Donetria McGee and the squad's third-leading scorer from a year ago, Ariyanna Hall. He then jumped on the out-of-state market and brought in Morgan State transfers Taylor Lawhorne and Elizabeth Sherrill. Throw in former Northeast Community College players, Elisabeth Matas-Martin and Katarina Zagorac, plus Southwestern Oregon transfer Kealani Neves, and the Broncbusters began to take shape. Scales also brought with him Britney Mapang, who averaged 21 points and seven rebounds per game, and Aerihna Afoa (10 ppg, 3 rpg) during their freshman season at Colby.

"This team has a lot of experience," Scales said. "We have a good mix of players who know my system and ones who have played college basketball."

Thats a perfect mix for Scales, who predicates his system on slowing the game down and stifling teams with tenacious defense; two areas sorely lacking last season. The Broncbusters finished 11th in the Jayhawk in shooting and were the second-worst defensive team in the conference. They surrendered a school-record 112 points to Cowley, a mark that had stood for more than 20 years.

"We're going to defend," said Scales, whose team finished in the top seven in points per game allowed last year. "That's something I can guarantee."

The Schedule

The Broncbusters road back to legitimacy in the Jayhawk West gets tested right off the bat with a trip to Arkansas City to face Cowley on Jan. 27, a place where the Broncbusters have dropped four straight games. That's followed up a week later with back-to-back home dates with Coffeyville and Neosho before consecutive road games at Butler and at Cloud.

"There aren't any easy games on this schedule," Scales said. "You can't take a night off. And when people aren't expecting much from you, that's when you need to take advantage."

The month of Feb. is littered with winnable games. They host Allen on the 20th before going to Pratt 48 hours later. That's sandwiched between games with Barton and Dodge City before their first ultimate test of the 2021 campaign with a trip to Liberal to play Seward on March 3.

"Our teams at Colby gave Seward a run for their money last year," Scales explained.

After losing to the Saints by 39, Colby nearly knocked off the 19th-ranked team in the country back in Feb. before Tianna Johnson's put back at the buzzer sealed another Seward County win.

Three days after their showdown with the Saints, Garden City hosts Hutchinson on a Saturday afternoon right before Scales faces off against his former team on March 10. That's followed up by a stretch where the Broncbusters close the regular season with four out of their final six games on the road, including a trip to the Sports Arena on March 27.

"The schedule is what it is," Scales said. "We have to focus on what we're trying to build here in Garden City. If we play our style, everything else will take care of itself."

Tightening the belt

During the 2019-20 campaign, Garden City finished second to last in the Jayhawk Conference in points per game allowed. They allowed a season-worst 112 points to Cowley and were dead last in opponents field-goal percentage. But one area the Broncbusters thrived in: forcing turnovers. In fact, they produced the fifth most takeaways in the nation last season.

Slow start

Last year, Garden City got off to a 4-6 start overall. But more alarming was the fact that they dropped their first five conference games-marking the first time since 2006 that the Broncbusters began league play 0-5. 

No continuity

During the 2019-20 season, Garden City used 10 different starting lineup combinations.

Big leads dissipate

Garden City had issues holding onto big leads. On Jan. 29, Colby erased a 17-point deficit to beat Garden City by seven. A few days later, Barton stormed back from 15 down to nip the Broncbusters by one.

Preseason Coach's Poll

The Jayhawk West has been dominated by two teams over the past two decades: Hutchinson and Seward. And nothing's changed in anyone's thinking entering this year. The Blue Dragons, who won 28 games in 2019-20, were picked first followed by Seward, despite the fact that the Saints have a new coach in Todd Ciochetto. Barton, Dodge City and Colby round out the top five followed by Garden City, who last year recorded its fewest wins since 2017.

Conference finishes

Garden City has finished sixth or worse five times in the previous six years. The last time they landed in the top three in the west: 2016 when they finished second behind Hutchinson.