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Lady Busters roll past Grizzlies
Published 2/4/2010 in Sports
By MIKE KESSINGER
mkessinger@gctelegram.com
It wasn't an ideal game, but what mattered by the end for the Garden City Community College Lady Broncbusters was that it was a win.
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Brad Nading/Telegram Garden City Community College's Jasmine Troup, center, pulls up for a shot over Butler County's LaTeshia Sims in the lane Wednesday at the Perryman Athletic Complex. The Lady Busters won, 69-52.
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Brad Nading/Telegram Garden City Community College's Aileen Gonzalez, left, grabs a rebound and moves the ball back out past Butler's Desirai Smith to reset the BustersÕ offense Wednesday at Peryman Athletic Complex.
On a night GCCC shot just 20 percent from the free throw line, turned the ball over 10 times and lost sophomore starting forward Deirdre Mays to a twisted ankle injury -- all in the first half -- the Busters still managed to produce a 69-52 win against Butler. The victory gives GCCC a regular season sweep against the Lady Grizzlies, who were picked a spot ahead of the Busters in the preseason coaches poll.
"On the offensive end we didn't have a lot of highlights," GCCC coach Alaura Sharp said. "We made some plays and weathered the storm. It was all about our defensive effort. We really kept them in front and guarded and did a nice job on the boards."
Once LaMesia Abbott scored an uncontested layup off a steal to make it 16-15 with 5:07 left before halftime GCCC (11-12, 7-2) never trailed again. The Busters were never really challenged from there.
"In the beginning I think we just really relaxed a little bit, then we realized that they were playing harder than we were," said Abbott, who finished with a game-high 22 points. "We decided to pick it up and play as a team."
The Busters attacked the shorter Butler team on the inside, pounding the ball to 6-foot-4 freshman Marisela Rodriguez. The Garden City High School product responded with 18 points. She also led the Busters charge in the rebound war as GCCC dominated the boards, 56-32. Rodriguez had 12 rebounds.
When the Busters were not getting the ball to Rodriguez, they were getting it inside other ways. Abbott had 13 points in the first half, 10 of her points coming off layups. On the defensive side, the focus was on preventing the Grizzlies outside game from warming up. The Busters held Butler to 26.9 percent (18-of-67) from the floor, and 6-of-20 from behind the 3-point line. The defensive effort was reminescent of the first meeting between the two when Butler shot 24.6 percent.
"It was mostly the same thing," Abbott said of the defensive game plan. "We stopped them from making threes, so it was OK."
GCCC extended its lead to 62-46 with 1:46 left in the game on an Aubrica Robins free throw which was the Busters lead until the final seconds.
Along with Abbott and Rodriguez in double-figure scoring, Victoria Naylor had 12. The three of them were the only Busters to score in the first half as Rodriguez and Naylor had six points apiece before the break.
Paige Franklin was the only Grizzly to score more than 10 as she had 15.
"It was a lot the same from the defensive stand, but (Butler) had been shooting the ball better from the first time we played them," Sharp said of the defensive plan. "We tried to play them a little tighter on the perimeter and I thought we did a nice job."
GCCC will be on the road Saturday at Hutchinson. The Busters upset Hutchinson the first time the two played this year. GCCC won at Perryman Athletic Complex on Jan. 18, 56-52.
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GCCC 69, Butler 52
BUTLER (10-14, 4-6) -- Hart 2-13 1-2 5, Franklin 6-9 3-6 15, Fawcett 2-11 2-2 8, Briar 1-4 0-0 2, Andrews 2-6 1-2 6, Smith 1-6 0-1 2, Vannaman 0-0 0-0 0, Sims 0-0 0-0 0, Egwuagu 0-5 2-2 2, Bolling 0-0 0-0 0, Dean 1-3 0-1 3, Henning 3-10 1-2 9. Totals -- 18-67 10-18 52.
GCCC (11-12, 7-2) -- Freeman 1-6 2-4 4, Abbott 8-12 3-4 22, Rodriguez 7-13 4-10 18, Naylor 4-10 4-4 12, Mays 0-0 0-0 0, Gonzalez 0-1 0-0 0, Robins 4-7 1-4 9, Troup 2-4 0-2 4. Totals -- 26-53 14-28 69.
Halftime -- GCCC 25-19. 3-point goals -- Butler 6-20 (Fawcett 2-8, Henning 2-4, Andrews 1-1, Dean 1-1, Hart 0-3, Franklin 0-1, Briar 0-1, Smith 0-1); GCCC 3-11 (Abbott 3-5, Robins 0-3, Freeman 0-1, Naylor 0-1, Gonzalez 0-1). Rebounds -- Butler 32 (Andrews, Dean 6); GCCC 56 (Rodriguez 12). Assists -- Butler 4 (Franklin 2); GCCC 12 (Freeman, Robins 4). Blocks -- Butler 0; GCCC 4 (Freeman, Rodriguez 2); Steals -- Butler 10 (three with 2); GCCC 3 (three with 1). Fouled out -- Butler, Hart, Dean; GCCC, Gonzalez. Team fouls -- Butler 25, GCCC 18. Turnovers -- Butler 11, GCCC 19.
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