Mantz breaks school record; Garden City rolls to third straight win

Garden City, KS-The entire scorer's table was aware of the scenario, and they made sure to let Head Coach, Greg Franklin know about it.  

"They kept telling me that we needed one more for the record," he said with a smile. "I pointed back in a joking manner and said if she twists an ankle, it's on you." 

The veteran coach though eventually obliged.  

Jolie Mantz broke the school record, nailing 10-of-14 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 34 points as Garden City earned its third straight victory with an 87-46 win over Colby Saturday afternoon at Conestoga Arena. 

"I had taken her out, and everyone at the scorer's table was all over me," Franklin said while laughing. "I didn't want to be that guy that didn't want her to at least have a chance."

Moments after Franklin reinserted his freshman guard, he ran a simple flare screen. Ella Reisner then whipped a pass to Mantz, who had snuck behind a Priscilla Rose Wemba pick giving her just enough room to hoist a 28-footer that touched nothing but net. It was her record-breaking 10^th triple, surpassing Maya Nieto, who drilled nine in the opening round of the conference tournament last season vs. Independence, and Kavita Akula, who hit nine vs. Pratt six years earlier. It also gave the Broncbusters a commanding 79-41 advantage with 3:49 remaining.  

"She (Mantz) has played well for us here lately," Franklin said. "It's funny because at the beginning of the year, when we were down in Texas, we couldn't make a 3." 

They had no issues on Saturday as Garden City (6-3, 3-1) connected on a season-best 14-of-23 (61 percent) from beyond the arc.   

"We have elite shooters with Jolie and Bruna (Costa Da Silva)," Franklin added. "It just opens up the entire floor for us when they're both hitting." 

Costa Da Silva hit three triples and chipped in 15 points, and Antonicia Moultrie had eight points and 13 rebounds for Garden City, which posted their second straight 40-point victory. They limited Colby to just 33 percent shooting and 1-of-10 from 3. They forced 37 turnovers, which led to 47 points. 

"I just think the right people are taking shots right now," Franklin said. "Everyone is in the right position." 

Mantz did most of her damage in the opening quarter. After missing her first deep ball, the freshman connected on four straight including a 26-footer in the final seconds of the period. She then made a fifth straight long ball to begin the second, a set-shot triple setup by Costa Da Silva to give the Broncbusters a 20-9 lead. Her final first-half stat line: 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting. 

Garden City led 40-23 at the break.  

"We were taking shots, at least early in the year, that were uncharacteristic of what we were trying to do," Franklin said. "We are getting better in that department."

The Broncbusters never trailed in the game and held the Trojans to single digits in both the first and third quarters. They outscored them 22-9 in the third and built their lead to as many as 42 in the final minute of the fourth when Reisner knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 87-45.  

Costa Da Silva finished 6-of-10 from the field and had seven assists and four steals for Garden City. Hadiya Kennerly tallied eight points in 14 minutes off the bench.  

Dessirae Ulmer and Jera Kruleski each scored nine points for Colby, which fell to 6-4 overall and 1-3 in conference play.