Broncbuster women hold off feisty Otero squad

Liberal, Kan.–(westernkansasnews.com)–Sometimes the last day of a two day classic can be the toughest of games. On Sunday afternoon in the Seward County Classic, the Garden City Lady Broncbuster team would face an Otero team the defeated by nine, nine days ago in LaJunta.

Sohkna Ndiaye’s 16 points and eight rebounds led three Lady Busters in double figures, as they would hold off a pesky Lady Rattler squad 77-70 Sunday afternoon in The Green House.

The first quarter would see six lead changes and two ties, but Garden City would take a 17-13 lead after the opening frame. They started out with the first 10 points of the second quarter to take a 27-13 lead with around 7:30 left in the half. Otero clawed their way back to within 36-33 with under a minute left in the half, before the Lady Busters closed the half with eight straight to lead 44-33 at intermission.

In the second half, Garden City (5-0) pushed their lead out to 15 points on a pair of occasions, with the last coming at 55-40 with 4:12 left in the third stanza. The Lady Rattlers responded with 10 straight to get to within 55-50 with 1:32 left in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Busters extended their lead back up to 13 at 68-55 with 5:34 left, and maintained a decent lead until late. Otero rattled off six straight to get to within 75-70 with 46 seconds remaining. Garden City hit a pair of free throws late to secure their second win of the year against Otero with a 77-70 win.

Three Lady Busters were in double figures, led by Sohkna Ndiyae with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Deija Roberson added 16 points and Elektra Mjoll added 12. London Turner had nine points, nine rebounds and nine steals, as she fought foul trouble in the second half. Garden City shot 59% for the game and were 14-20 at the charity line. They had 23 turnovers and outrebounded Otero 40-36.

Otero got 26 points from Itxasne Fernandez Argulello, 17 from Candela Roy Ibaibarriaga and 13 from Brooklyn Kaiser. The Lady Rattlers shot 48% from the field and went 7-12 at the free throw line. They committed 33 turnovers.

At 5-0, Garden City has a 10-day wait until their next game, as they open conference play at Hutchinson on Wednesday, November 19 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.