No. 21 Cougars hold off MCC women 61-56
SCOTTSBLUFF – No. 21 Western Nebraska Community College overcame a 17-point second-half deficit to take down the McCook Community College women Friday 61-56. The win clinches the top seed for the Region IX south division and secures home court for the Region IX Tournament.
“We played one of the best first halves we’ve played all year,” said MCC Coach Brandon Pritchett. “But turning the ball over 25 times (16 in the second half), giving up 16 offensive rebounds, and shooting 54 percent from the free-throw line, won't win games against good teams.”
The two teams traded leads five times in the first quarter with the Cougars emerging with an 18-14 lead. Western Nebraska nudged the lead to 21-16 at the 8:33 mark of the second period before MCC stepped up on the defensive side and went on a 19-2 run and forced seven Cougar turnovers to take a 35-23 lead at intermission.
“Defensively we got after it but just didn't finish possessions with rebounding,” said Pritchett.
The Cougars didn’t score in the final 5:58 of the period as MCC shot 68 percent from the field in the first half, making 12 of 14 shots inside the 3-point line (86 percent). Western Nebraska shot 28 percent from the field in the half.
Sophomore point-guard Madara Liepniece (Riga, Latvia) hit a 3-pointer with 6:18 left in the third quarter to put MCC up 44-27 but the Cougars went on a 13-3 run to cut the deficit to 47-40 at the end of three periods.
Western Nebraska tied the game 49-49 with 6:53 left in the game but MCC reclaimed the lead 53-52 with another Liepniece 3-pointer with 3:57 left in the game.
“Madara had a really solid game with a double-double,” said Pritchett.
The Cougars took the lead for good with 51.2 left in the game on a 3-pointer to secure their eight-straight win. Western Nebraska outscored MCC in the final period 21-9.
MCC shot 35 percent from the field in the second half and 52.4 percent for the game. The Lady Indians made five of 16 threes (31.3 percent) and went seven of 13 from the line (53.8 percent).
Western Nebraska shot 30.3 percent for the game, made seven of 27 from distance (25.9 percent) and made 14 of 21 free throws (66.7 percent). The Cougars outrebounded MCC 38-36.
Liepniece paced the Lady Indians with 18 points and 11 rebounds. She made four of 11 shots from distance. Freshman Johanna Gerlach (Hachborn, Germany) scored 14 points with a two-for-four night from the arc. Freshman Miriam Wahlqvist (Odakra, Sweden) came off the bench to score 10 points.
“Miriam really stepped up off the bench for us and had one of her best games,” said Pritchett. “She kept things simple offensively and made plays.”
Freshman Laia Izquierdo Altimira (Barcelona, Spain) grabbed six rebounds.
Western Nebraska improves to 22-5 and 8-0 in the south.
MCC falls to 17-11 and 6-2 in the standings.
“I'm proud of how we are playing right now,” said Pritchett. “We'll fix these things this week and be ready to go with our final two home games.”
The Lady Indians will finish out the regular season at home next weekend where they have secured a bye in the play-in portion for the first round of the Region IX tournament. On Friday MCC hosts Trinidad State (3-5, 6-17) at 5:30 p.m. and on Sophomore Recognition Day Saturday, the Lady Indians host Otero College (1-8, 4-21) at 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 8-0 1.000 22-5 (.815)
McCook 6-2 .750 17-11 (.607)
Lamar CC 4-5 .444 12-15 (.444)
Trinidad State 3-5 .375 6-17 (.261)
Northeastern JC 3-6 .250 7-22 (.241)
Otero College 1-7 .125 4-22 (.154)
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Northeastern JC 67, North Platte 66 (at North Platte)
Lamar 60, Otero College 58 (at Lamar)
Western Nebraska 61, McCook CC 56 (at Scottsbluff)
REMAINING MCC SCHEDULE
Feb. 28 – Otero College at McCook CC (5:30 p.m.)
March 1 – Trinidad State at McCook CC (2 p.m.)