Story by Kalon Fullerton
The Butler Grizzlies continued their undefeated start to the spring semester, pulling away in the second quarter to cruise to a dominant victory over Garden City, defeating the Broncbusters in a 86-47 victory at the Power Plant on Wednesday.
The Grizzlies outscored the Broncbusters 23-8 in the second quarter to take a 40-23 lead into the locker room, a lead that they never relinquished, as they built their lead to as many as 42 points. The 43 point victory is the highest margin for the Grizzlies in Jayhawk Conference play since a 98-58 victory against the Northwest Tech Mavericks last season.
Multiple players starred offensively for the Grizzlies as four different players finished with double digits. Freddie Wallace led all scorers as the freshman from LIncoln, Nebraska finished with 16 points. Wallace, who averages 16.8 points per game, has now scored in double figures for the fifth straight contest. She was joined by Kaylee Nero who came off the bench to score 14 points and Syncere Harrod who also came off the bench to score 12. Starter Maycee James scored 11 points and also led the Grizzlies on the glass, finishing with eight rebounds.
Butler shot a scathing 52% from the field, their best field goal percentage since shooting 50% in a November 12th contest against Northern Oklahoma Tonkawa. The Grizzlies made their hot shooting performance despite making only three of their 16 shots from beyond the three point line. The Grizzlies made up for the poor shooting from deep with 50 points in the paint and 16 second chance points. Butler, who came into tonight's contest ranked second in the conference with offensive rebounds, finished with 16 offensive boards. Butler was also helped by 45 points from their bench.
Butler held the Broncbusters to just 33% from the field, and allowed only 24 points in the second half. The Grizzlies forced 21 turnovers, converting 27 points off those turnovers. The Grizzlies finished with 11 steals, led by J'unti Franklin who earned four. Butler won the rebounding battle, holding Garden City to just 22 rebounds as a team.
Butler improves to 12-3 on the season and 7-3 in conference play. The Grizzlies, who received votes in this week's Top 25 poll, will look to win their fourth consecutive game when they travel to southeastern Kansas and Independence to face the Pirates on Saturday.
