Story and Photo by Daniel Stinman - Area Director of Marketing and Public Information
North Platte, Neb. – North Platte Community College women’s basketball team held off the Runnin’ Lopes of Lamar Community College to earn their third victory of the season on Wednesday night, 72-66.
“Our student-athletes showed a lot of heart and perseverance tonight,” said head coach Jeff Thurman. “We knew Lamar was not going to quit but we made the necessary plays and free throws down the stretch to earn the win.”
Knights trailed in the early minutes of the contest 10-6, before an offensive rebound and put back by Jordyn Moon sparked a 10-0 run. During that run, the Knights went 3-of-4 from the free throw line and captured their first lead of the game.
In the closing seconds, the Knights expanded their lead to six as Janay Brauer connected on a straight away three to close out the quarter, 19-13.
In the second quarter, the Knights began to heat up from the outside as Brauer and Amber Wolever knocked down their shots from the perimeter on three straight possessions to expand the Knights lead to twelve, 29-17.
The Runnin’ Lopes went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to six as the clock moved inside four minutes, 29-23. Knights halted the momentum shift and closed the quarter on a 11-2 run to take the advantage at the break, 40-25.
The Knights kept their third quarter lead at double digits as the teams traded buckets throughout the quarter. Kayla Pope pushed the Knights lead to sixteen by connecting on 1-of-2 free throws with 7:11 remaining in the quarter, 43-27.
Runnin’ Lopes made a charge midway through the third quarter, cutting the deficit to twelve with 2:12 to play, 48-36. Brauer responded making a highlight play with just over a minute remaining in the quarter by driving baseline and completing a reverse layup that brought the student section to their feet, as the Knights closed out the quarter with the fourteen-point advantage, 50-36.
In the fourth quarter, the Runnin’ Lopes made a late charge at the deficit cutting the Knights lead to six inside two minutes to play, 62-56. The Knights closed out the game by going a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line in the closing minutes to seal the 72-66 victory.
Knights finished the evening shooting 23-of-51 (45.1 percent) from the floor, 7-of-14 (50.0 percent) from behind the arc and 19-of-29 (65.5 percent) from the free throw line.
The Knights had four players in double digits including Pope (15), Brauer (15), Diamond Moore-Heath (14), and Moon (11). Jada Ballard, Pope and Brauer each collected six rebounds to lead the Knights on the glass.
The Knights (3-6) will hit the road this weekend for a pair of Region IX games. North Platte Community College opens the weekend against Trinidad State Junior College on Friday, February 26. Tip is set for 6:00 p.m. at the Scott Gym in Trinidad, Colo.