Story by Daniel Stinman - Area Director of Marketing and Public Information
North Platte, Neb. – The Knights second chance opportunities earn them their second win of the season over Peru State College on Sunday afternoon, 65-45.
“It was a good team win today,” said head coach Jeff Thurman. “Our unselfish play and solid defense were strong factors in getting us this road win.”
The Knights started the game strong by jumping out to a 6-3 lead in the opening three minutes of action. Knights stretched their lead to seven after Diamond Moore-Heath collected an offensive rebound and was able to put it back up for two, 10-3.
Jennessy Aragon-Dennis pushed the Knights lead to ten after connecting on an open three point shot with 4:08 to play in the first quarter. The Bobcats cut into the Knights lead over the final minutes, but NPCC had the advantage after one quarter of play, 20-12.
In the second quarter, the Knights extended their lead to twelve on a layup by Amber Wolever, before the Bobcats mounted a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to two with 3:21 to play. Knights halted the Bobcats momentum closing out the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a seven-point lead at the break, 29-22.
Knights offense came to life as their lead exploded to fifteen mid-way through the third quarter, as Jordyn Moon received the inbound and cut through the Bobcats defense for an open layup, 39-24. The differential would hold steady through the remainder of the quarter as the Knights led 43-31, after three quarters of play.
The Bobcats would take one last run at the Knights in the opening four minutes of the fourth quarter but were not able to get any closer than ten. Diamond Moore-Heath halted the Bobcats momentum with a bucket in transition that helped the Knights outscore their opponent 17-9 in the closing minutes.
Knights finished the day shooting 30-of-71 (42.3 percent) from the floor and 4-of-22 (18.2 percent) from behind the arc. The Knights turned their 16 offensive rebounds into 13 second chance points.
Moore-Heath collected her second double-double on the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Kayla Pope and Aragon-Dennis each finished the afternoon with 11 points, respectively.
North Platte Community College (2-5, 0-3 Region IX) will host Eastern Wyoming (3-3, 2-1 Region IX) to kick start back-to-back home games this weekend. The Knights and Lancers are scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. game inside the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium on February 12. The Lancers won the first meeting 81-64 on January 22.