Grizzlies Handle Business With Win Over Garden City

EL DORADO, Kan. – A turnover filled game saw the 21st-ranked Butler Grizzlies come out top, 57-50, over the Garden City Broncbusters at the Power Plant Saturday afternoon.

Butler (19-4, 13-4 KJCCC) picked up its second consecutive win, also sweeping the regular season from Garden City (12-11, 7-11).

Garden City turned the ball over 27 times with Butler adding 20 turnovers of their own. The Grizzlies shot just 30% (18-60) from the field with the Broncbusters shooting slightly better at 35.2% (19-54). The Grizzlies were fouled much more often, shooting 20-27 form the free throw line while Garden City shot 8-10 from the charity stripe. Butler outrebounded the Broncbusters 44-37.

"We'll take the win and move on," said head coach Mike Helmer. "I thought we played uninspired. If we play the way we did today for our next two games (at Dodge City, at Hutchinson) we will get smacked by 20."

Freddie Wallace finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, Dayuna Colvin scored 17 and Maycee James had a team-high five steals to go with seven points, five rebounds and four assists.

Garden City was led by Antonicia Moultrie who poured in 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Stevi Yancy added eight points and 10 rebounds, shooting 3-of-13 from the field.

Butler got off to a slow start as the Broncbusters built an 8-3 lead four minutes into the game. The Grizzly offense began to click as they took a 14-11 lead into the second quarter. And eventually a 26-20 lead into halftime.

The third quarter was a battle. Butler took an eight-point lead at 34-26 when Anna Eldridge knocked down two free throws at the 5:01 mark. Garden City battled back with an 8-0 run, tying the game at 34-34 as Yancy went 1-2 from the free throw line. Butler slipped into halftime with a four point, 38-34 lead. The Grizzlies were outscored by Garden City 14-12 in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter saw the Grizzlies take their largest lead of the game, 56-45, with 1:50 left in the game. They edged the Broncbusters 519-16 in the final quarter to escape with the 57-50 win.

Butler returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 14th, as they travel to Dodge City for a battle with the Conquistadors with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m.

"We have to play with a lot more intensity and execute a whole lot better," Helmer said. "We can do it. We just have to make that decision to get after it in practice on Monday and Tuesday."