Lady Indians pick up region win in Lincoln

LINCOLN – The McCook Community College women picked up a 68-59 win Saturday over Southeast Community College on the road in Lincoln.

“This was a tough physical game that saw a lot of fouls, and with that the flow of the game is nonexistent,” said MCC Coach Brandon Pritchett.

The Lady Indians started with a 14-7 first-quarter lead but were outscored in the second quarter 19-17 and in the third quarter 18-14. Leading 45-44, MCC was able to pull away with a 23-15 edge in the final quarter.

“I thought we came out and played a solid first eight minutes and then went complacent over the next 12 minutes,” said MCC Coach Brandon Pritchett.

Sophomore Johanna Gerlach (Hachborn, Germany) paced the offense with 22 points. She made six of 11 field goals and sank 10 of 11 free throws.

The Lady Indians shot 38.5 from the field made one of eight 3-pointers and went 27 of 38 from the free-throw line (71.1 percent).

“We made free throws much better tonight. Jojo was attacking really well and getting herself to the foul line with her aggressiveness,” said Pritchett, “That was something we talked about – mixing it up between jumpers and attacking the rim.”

Laia Izquierdo Altimira (sophomore, Barcelona, Spain) scored 20 points and had seven rebounds.

“Laia had another great game for us especially offensively,” said Pritchett. “She's been making so many plays on that end the last couple weeks.”

Stephanie Nnabuihe (freshman, Newbridge, Ireland) came off the bench to score 10 points and led the Lady Indians with 15 rebounds. Miriam Wahlqvist (sophomore, Helsingborg, Sweden) pitched in seven points and five boards.

“Stephanie came off the bench and rebounded so well with 15 rebounds,” said Pritchett. “She kept plays alive with nine offensive boards.”

The Bobcats shot 32.8 percent from the floor, made three of 16 triples (18.8 percent) and made 18 of 25 free throws (72 percent).

MCC outrebounded SCC 42-28 but turned the ball over 26 times leading to 18 SCC points.  

Southeast Community College falls to 0-3 in Region IX South and 2-15 overall.

MCC goes to 11-10 and improves to 4-1 in the region.

The Lady Indians will be home Wednesday for a region matchup against Western Nebraska with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff in the Peter and Dolores Graff Events Center.

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