Lady Indians down Lamar; improve to 6-1 in region

LAMAR, Colo.– The second-place McCook Community College women improved to 6-1 in Region IX play with a 69-57 win on the road Friday at third-place Lamar Community College.

MCC remains a half-game out of first-place Western Nebraska (6-1), just a week ahead of their rematch in Scottsbluff, won by the Cougars 67-50 in McCook on Jan. 28.

On Friday, the Lady Indians raced to a 39-19 lead at halftime.

“We came out and had a great first quarter,” said MCC Coach Brandon Pritchett. “I thought defensively we were locked in and we were able to beat their press.”

The coach credited freshman Johanna Gerlach (Hachborn, Germany) for energizing the team early and throughout the game.

“Jojo had a big game making transition baskets and mid-range jumpers, something that she excels at,” said Pritchett.

Despite the big lead at intermission, the coach said Lamar came out in the second half and made some plays.

“And we just relaxed too much to let them back into the game,” said Pritchett. “We have to do a better job staying focused and keeping the game simple for 40 minutes.”

Statistics for this game were not available at press time but the coach was pleased with the balanced effort for his team.

“I thought everyone stepped up tonight for us,” said Pritchett, including some key minutes by freshmen.

He cited freshman Carolina Garcia Perdomo (Islas Canarias, Spain) for hitting a couple critical 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and freshman Laia Izquierdo Altimira (Barcelona, Spain) for her rebounding and for making some great plays on the offensive end as well as freshman Miriam Wahlqvist (Odakra, Sweden).

“Miriam came off the bench did well on the offensive glass and getting to the free-throw line,” said Pritchett.

Sophomore Madara Liepniece (Riga, Latvia) provided the leadership down the stretch.

“Madara really ran our team well especially in the fourth down the stretch, making two huge free throws,” said Pritchett.

Lamar goes to 3-4 in the standings and 11-14 overall.

MCC improves to 16-10 and the team returns home Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. game against Northeastern Junior College before the critical game Friday at Scottsbluff against Western Nebraska, a team that has climbed to No. 24 in the NJCAA Top 25 rankings. The are 20-5 on the season.

MCC’s final two games of the season will be Feb. 28 against Trinidad State (5:30 p.m.) and March 1 against Otero College (2 p.m.)

Up-to-date information about MCC basketball including livestream links, schedule, statistics, rosters, photos and more can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com 

 

REGION IX SOUTH D-1 WOMEN’S STANDINGS
                                            W-L     PCT      OVERALL
Western Nebraska     6-0   1.000     20-5   (.800)      

McCook                           6-1     .857      16-10  (.615)

Lamar CC                       3-4     .429      11-14  (.440)

Trinidad State               2-4     .333        5-16  (.238)

Northeastern JC          2-5     .286        5-21  (.192)

Otero College               1-5     .167        4-20  (.167)

 

FRIDAY RESULTS
McCook CC 69, Lamar 57 (at Lamar)

Western Nebraska 77, Trinidad State 66 (at Trinidad)

Northeastern JC 72, Otero College 68  (at La Junta)

SATURDAY GAMES
Western Nebraska at Otero College

Northeastern JC at Trinidad State

REMAINING MCC SCHEDULE
Feb. 18 – Northeastern JC at McCook, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 21 – McCook CC at Western Nebraska, 6:30 p.m.

Feb. 28 – Otero College at McCook CC (5:30 p.m.)

March 1 – Trinidad State at McCook CC (2 p.m.)