NPCC
Joplin, Mo. – A 21-point third quarter carried the Knights to a 69-62 win over #13 seeded Schoolcraft College to open the NJCAA DII Women’s National Championship on Monday.
Jada Thompson tallied a career high 28 points and nine rebounds to lead the Knights. Neveah Golden scored 13 points, while Madison Cheleen chipped in 12 points off the bench.
"To be able to make history with this group, I am honored to be a part of this program," said head coach Jeff Thurman. "We can enjoy this accomplishment, but we still have work to do to prepare for a really good Johnson County team tomorrow."
Sharon Smith tallied six of the Ocelots first eight points to double up the Knights with 5:54 remaining in the first quarter. A quick burst tied the game up at 8-8, before three straight points gave the Knights the lead inside the final three minutes.
Sienna McNitt connected on a pair of free throws to halt the momentum, but a 7-2 rally over the next minute pushed the North Platte advantage to 17-12. Schoolcraft shook off the pressure and cut the margin to three at the end of the first quarter.
Despite the Ocelots cutting the margin to one three times in the opening 2:50, the Knights continued to respond on the offensive end. A short 5-0 run, capped off by four straight points from Nevaeh Golden built a 30-24 lead with 3:21 remaining. Schoolcraft closed out the half with four straight points from Mia Wright to narrow the margin to 30-28 at the halftime break.
Out of the break, the Ocelots knotted the game up on a runner by Garyana Overton. A Thompson three gave the Knights back the lead with 8:21 left in the third quarter. The margin stayed tight until a North Platte 9-1 run put the black and gold up 42-33. Knights continued to stretch their lead into the late stages of the quarter, as they built a 51-38 lead headed into the final ten minutes.
A Dezirae Gonzales layup gave the Knights their largest lead of the game, but Schoolcraft would not hang out in the double-digit deficit for long. A 7-1 run cut the margin to six on a layup from Nevaeh Cable with 5:02 remaining. North Platte was able to outlast the Ocelots down the stretch to earn their first win in the national tournament in school history.
North Platte (21-12) advances to the second round of the tournament to play Johnson County Community College on Tuesday. Tip against the Cavaliers is set for 9 a.m. with local broadcast coverage on FM 98.1/AM 1410 in North Platte. A stream of the game is also available on the NJCAA Network.