Hawks soar over Knights in home opener

North Platte, Neb. – Northeast Community College built a sizeable lead early in the opening quarter and never looked back, defeating the Knights in their home opener 77-49.

Fumnanya Ijeh led the Knights with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Samantha Riggles pulled down six rebounds to accompany her six points. North Platte connected on just 27.1 percent (19-70) of their shots from the field, and 15.8 percent (3-19) of their shots from the perimeter.

Hawks soared out to a 13-4 lead before the Knights connected on their first field goal of the game on a baseline jumper by Ijeh. Knights continued to plug away narrowing the margin to six by the end of the first quarter, 17-11.

Knights were limited to five points in the second quarter as the momentum continued to stay on the side of the Hawks. Northeast managed to stretch their lead to 17 on a putback by Sharissa Haas, before Jada Grigsby drove to the basket for a layup with 4:23 remaining. Northeast controlled the final minutes of the quarter and continued their offensive dominance to extend their lead to 34-16 at the halftime break.

Hawks exploded for 26 third quarter points as the margin grew to 60-29. Ijeh accounted for the six of the Knights thirteen points in the third quarter, before North Platte had their best ten minutes of basketball in the fourth.  

Remie Haynes added her name to the scoring column with a turnaround jumper in the paint with 8:45 to play. North Platte continued to find their rhythm in the quarter, as an 8-3 run trimmed the deficit to 21 after a jumper by Noel Warrior. The Hawks sizeable lead could not be overcome down the stretch as Northeast put their finishing touches on the win.

Knights return the road Saturday, Nov. 26 to take on Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Tip is set for 3 p.m. inside the Reiver Arena.