Garden City edged late in back-and-forth battle with Seward County, 62–59

Photo by: Adam Shrimplin/Garden City Athletics

Garden City, KS – Garden City went toe-to-toe with one of the Jayhawk's hottest teams Wednesday night, but a late Seward County surge handed the Broncbusters a 62–59 loss at Conestoga Arena.

Both teams opened cold in a defensive first quarter that ended tied 9–9, with London Turner and Marshea Fisher getting Garden City on the board while the Broncbusters' half-court defense forced a string of Seward turnovers. In the second quarter, the Busters found their rhythm. Elektra Mjoll knocked down a pair of threes, Paula Fernandez splashed one from deep, and Deija Roberson converted at the foul line as Garden City outscored Seward 19–15 to take a 28–24 lead into halftime. 

Coming out of the break, Mjoll drilled another three and Caryle Fortas and Fisher attacked the paint to push the advantage to as many as nine. Seward answered behind Avery Marchino and Kimora Fagan, chipping away before a late Lady Saints run evened the game at 44–44 after three quarters. The fourth stayed tight throughout. Fortas' layup and a jumper from Luana Luz gave Garden City a 48–44 cushion, then Luz buried another three and Turner finished through contact to put the Busters up 55–50 with just over five minutes left.

From there, Seward County made the final push. Trinitee Holmes hit a three to tie it at 55–55, Marchino knocked down a mid-range jumper, and Holmes' free throws nudged the Lady Saints in front. Garden City kept answering—Turner scored again at the rim and Luz sliced the deficit to 61–59 with a late layup—but Marchino added one more free throw with one second left, and the Broncbusters' final sideline play came up empty as Seward escaped with the three-point win. 

Luz led Garden City with 13 points off the bench, hitting 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, while Mjoll added 12 points and four assists. Turner packed the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks, and Fortas finished with 10 points and four boards. Fisher orchestrated the offense with six assists to go with seven rebounds, five points, and a game-high four steals as the Broncbusters matched Seward from the field (both teams shot 50 percent) and got a 16–2 edge in bench scoring. Garden City moved to 9–3 overall and 4–3 in Jayhawk Conference play with the narrow defeat. 

Next up: Garden City heads back on the road Saturday, December 13th to face Barton Community College in Great Bend.