Story and Photo by Daniel Stinman Area Director of Marketing and Public Information
North Platte, Neb. – North Platte Community College will get the chance to continue their magical postseason run, after defeating Rochester Community and Technical College in the Northwest Plains Championship on Saturday afternoon, 68-63. A 9-0 run, over the final seventy seconds helped the Knights complete the comeback and secure a spot at the NJCAA DII Women’s Basketball Championship.
“I could not be prouder of our team and their fight today,” said head coach Jeff Thurman. “We had a great effort defensively and showed a lot of toughness against a very good Rochester team.
Rochester worked quickly out of the gate and built a 4-2 advantage in the opening sixty-five seconds of the first quarter. Diamond Moore-Heath knotted the game up at 4-4 with a short-range jumper, before a short 3-0 run by the Yellowjackets extended their lead to three, 7-4.
North Platte answered with a 6-2 run over the next two minutes to take their first lead of the game on a layup by Moore-Heath, 10-9. Rochester retook the lead on their next possession, but the Knights quickly answered with a 6-0 run to extend their lead to five at 16-11 with 3:20 to play in the first quarter. The scoring slowed over the final minutes of the quarter, as the Knights clung to a two-point advantage after the first ten minutes, 17-15.
In the second quarter, a reverse layup by Jocylin Sellers pushed the Knights lead back out to four, 19-15. Knights extended their lead out to eight, as Sellers grabbed a loose ball and was able to lay it in for two with 7:06 to play, 25-17. Rochester trimmed the deficit down to five, but a deep corner three by Jennessy Aragon-Dennis put the Knights back up by eight with 5:14 remaining.
Yellowjackets made a run at the deficit over the next four minutes trimming the lead back to one with 1:39 remaining in the second quarter. Knights responded with a 5-2 run over the final minute of the quarter and took a four-point advantage into the break, 33-29.
Rochester erased the deficit and retook the lead in the opening 2:30 of the third quarter, 35-33. Needing a switch in the momentum, the Knights went back inside to Moore-Heath, as she earned her way to the free throw line and was able to connect on the second of two free throws. North Platte applied pressure on the inbound and the Knights were able to turn a steal into quick points in transition.
Leading 36-35, the Knights continued with the full court pressure and Rochester again turned the ball over. In transition, Kayla Pope was able to outrun the Rochester defenders and laid it off the glass giving North Platte a three-point advantage with 5:13 to play in the third quarter.
Knights and Yellowjackets continued to exchange the lead over the final five minutes, but an opportunity in the final thirty seconds gave Rochester a two-point lead at the end of the third quarter, 45-43.
North Platte forced the Yellowjackets into a turnover in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter and tied it up on a layup by Pope. Knights and Yellowjackets continued to trade buckets, before Rochester extended their lead out to three on a pair of free throws, 53-50.
Knights attempted to regain the momentum, but Rochester managed to extend their lead to four inside the final 1:30. Janay Brauer gave the Knights the spark they were looking for by connecting on a deep three pointer. Trailing 63-62, the Knights went back to work defensively and forced Rochester into some tough looks at the basket.
Amber Wolever earned her way to the free throw line and knocked down back-to-back free throws to give the Knights back the lead with forty-eight seconds to play, 64-63. A Rochester turnover forced the Yellowjackets to foul and the Knights sealed the game at the foul line.
Over the remaining seconds of the fourth quarter, Pope pushed the Knights advantage to three after connecting on both free throw opportunities, 66-63. Rochester had an opportunity to tie the game with a three, but the shot was off the mark and a rebound by Jordyn Moon forced the Yellowjackets to foul. Moon went to the free throw line and with ice in her veins put the game out of reach by going a perfect two-of-two from the line.
“We talk about the team who handles all this adversity the best, will be the team with the most success in the end,” said Thurman. “We believed in one another, trusted each other and continued to stay positive.”
Pope led the Knights with 16 points on 6-of-19 shooting from the field in 35 minutes against Rochester. Moore-Heath tallied 14 points and eight rebounds, while Moon finished the afternoon with 10 points, nine rebounds and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
North Platte will await the announcement of the NJCAA National Championship seedings, which will be announced on Monday, April 12 at 10:00 PM CT via the NJCAA Selection Show. The 2021 NJCAA DII Women’s Basketball Championship will be held April 20-24 at the Tarlton Complex on the campus of Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, N.C.