Broncbusters blowout Indy on the road

Independence, KS-Garden City turned this one into a laugher.

Sierra Driessen had 19 points and seven steals, Sariah Conley and Ana Ramos Pires combined for 31, and the Broncbusters steamrolled Independence, 83-49 Tuesday afternoon at First Oak Bank Fieldhouse.  

"I thought we played extremely well," Head Coach, Greg Franklin said after the game with a huge smile. "We did some really good things on both ends of the floor."

Maya Nieto drilled three second-half 3-pointers to finish with 11 points off the bench for Garden City, which shot 47 percent from the field. They also limited the Pirates to just 18-of-62 shooting (29 percent), the third time this season they've held an opponent under 30.  

"When we play like that, we are tough to beat," Franklin said. 

The Broncbusters, who improved to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the Jayhawk, trailed for less than three minutes in the game. After Jasirae Vick dropped in two free throws to put Independence up 9-4 with 5:34 left in the first, Garden City answered with 10 straight points capped by Driessen's transition layup that gave the visitors a 14-9 advantage. They never trailed again.  

"The key to a really good team is balanced scoring," Franklin added. "It's going to be different players every night, and today, we figured out a way."

Four Broncbusters reached double figures with Conley scoring a season-high 16 points, and Pires adding 15 points and 10 rebounds, her second double-double of the season.  

"Sariah did a lot of really great things today," Franklin said.  

After trailing early by five, Garden City outscored Independence, 33-13 over the final 15 minutes of the first half including a 21-10 edge in the second period to take a 37-22 lead into the locker room.  

"It wasn't perfect, but we dictated the terms of this game," Franklin stated. 

The Broncbusters didn't let up in the second half. 

Nieto's third trey of the game with 5:14 remaining in the fourth gave Garden City its largest lead, 79-40. She finished 3-of-5 from long distance in 17 effective minutes off the bench.  

Sabrina Larsson was the lone Pirate in double figures with 11 points, but she was just 5-of-16 from the field.