Garden City Closes 2025-26 Season with Road Loss to Butler

Photo by: Adam Shrimplin/Garden City Athletics

El Dorado, KS — Garden City Community College saw its 2025-26 season come to a close Tuesday night in the second round of the 2026 NJCAA Division I Plains District Tournament, falling 93-62 on the road at Butler Community College in El Dorado. The loss capped the Broncbusters' season at 17-14 overall and 11-14 in conference play under head coach Greg Franklin.

Despite the season-ending result, Garden City remained one of the few teams to hand Butler a loss this year, having beaten the Grizzlies earlier in the season in Garden City. Tuesday's rematch, however, belonged to Butler, which used a strong second quarter and efficient offensive night to pull away and advance.

The Broncbusters stayed within striking distance early. Butler opened the game on a 6-1 run, but Garden City answered behind Deija Roberson and Sokhna Ndiaye to settle in. Roberson converted a three-point play midway through the first quarter, and the Busters continued to chip away before trailing 18-15 at the end of the opening period.

Garden City briefly trimmed the margin to two in the second quarter. Ndiaye knocked down three free throws at the 9:21 mark to make it 20-18, then followed later with a three-pointer and a mid-range jumper to keep the Busters close. After Ndiaye's three cut it to 22-21, Butler responded with a run on both ends of the floor, taking advantage of turnovers and converting at a high clip in the paint. The Grizzlies outscored Garden City 29-13 in the quarter and carried a 47-28 lead into halftime.

Butler continued to control the tempo in the third quarter, shooting 62.5 percent in the period while extending its lead. Garden City found some offense from Roberson, Turner and Ndiaye, but the Grizzlies answered nearly every push. A late layup from Roberson trimmed the margin to 20, but Butler closed the quarter ahead 73-49 and never looked back.

Ndiaye once again led the Broncbusters offensively, finishing with a game-high 26 points while adding five rebounds, two assists and going 10-of-12 at the free-throw line. Roberson added 16 points and five rebounds, while Turner contributed eight points and five boards. Fisher finished with six points and two assists, and Garden City got a three-pointer from Paula Fernandez off the bench.

As a team, Garden City shot 37.7 percent from the floor, went 3-of-15 from beyond the arc and finished 19-of-28 at the foul line. The Broncbusters were hurt by 19 turnovers, which Butler turned into 25 points, while the Grizzlies also held a 52-26 edge in points in the paint. Butler shot 58.1 percent from the field and placed five players in double figures, led by Ashley Singhateh and Keegan Yarick with 15 points apiece. Mya Mayberry added 14, Aliyah Green scored 12, and Kenzie Galliart posted 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Though the season ended short of another postseason push, the Broncbusters put together a competitive year that included 17 wins, an 11-win conference slate, a postseason berth and a signature victory over Butler earlier in the season. Under Coach Franklin, Garden City showed resilience throughout the year and closed the campaign as a group that continued to compete, grow and represent the program with toughness from opening night through the final buzzer.