Late rally leads McCook over Knights

McCook, Neb. – The North Platte Community College women's basketball team led McCook Community College by six in the early moments of the fourth quarter, but a late rally secured the 76-66 win for McCook on Tuesday night at the Peter and Dolores Graff Events Center.

"We played hard and competed well tonight," said head coach Jeff Thurman.

McCook got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 6-3 lead as the Knights lone field goal in the opening minutes, came on their third offensive possession. North Platte responded over the next 2:30 to even the score and take their first lead of the game on a layup by Janay Brauer.

McCook recaptured the momentum and stretched their lead to seven with 2:11 remaining in the opening quarter, as a missed layup turned into a second chance opportunity. North Platte tightened up on defense limiting McCook to only one more field goal down the stretch to cut the deficit to one by the end of the quarter on a layup by Kayla Pope, 18-19.

Offenses picked up as the lead traded hands nine times in the second quarter. Trailing by one at the midway point of the quarter, Fumnanya Ijeh unleashed a deep three to give the Knights a two-point advantage. McCook answered on their next offensive possession, as neither team mounted the momentum down the stretch to secure a lead before the halftime break, 38-38.

Knights established the momentum in the third quarter, as a 9-3 burst propelled North Platte to their largest lead of the game, 47-41. McCook erased the deficit inside the final two minutes, before Diamond Moore-Heath rattled in a free throw line jumper to give the Knights a two-point advantage after three quarters of play, 52-50.

Knights extended their lead to six in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, before McCook unleashed a 9-0 run to swing the momentum in their favor. McCook broke the game open in the closing minutes stretching their lead to twelve, before a layup by Pope in the closing seconds narrowed the final margin to ten.

For the game, North Platte connected on 45 percent (27-60) of its shots from the field, including 6-of-16 (.375) from the perimeter, while going 6-for-11 (.545) at the free throw line.

Pope led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting, while her teammates Brauer and Ijeh closed the game with 15 points and 13 points, respectively.

The loss dropped North Platte to 14-7 overall on the season, while McCook improves to 13-8 on the year.

North Platte returns to the hardwood against No. 17 North Central Missouri College on Saturday, Jan. 29. Tip is set for 3 p.m. in Trenton, Mo.