Knights roll in win over Runnin’ Lopes

Lamar, Colo – Kayla Pope and Fumnanya Ijeh combined for 28 points, as the Knights rolled to a 68-44 win over Lamar Community College at the Wellness Center on Tuesday night.

"We had great defensive energy tonight," said head coach Jeff Thurman. "This is a solid road win, and I am proud of the way we fought for all forty minutes."

The Knights were off to a solid start in the opening minutes, scoring nine of their first thirteen points from beyond the arc to take a 13-5 lead. Knights kept rolling as they utilized some tough defense to hold the Runnin' Lopes scoreless for the remainder of the quarter, while extending their lead to eighteen.

A 7-2 run to open the second quarter pushed the North Platte lead out to twenty-three with 7:40 to play. Lamar managed to cut the deficit to twenty, before Ijeh answered from downtown and Diamond Moore-Heath connected on back-to-back buckets in the paint to push the lead to twenty-five by the halftime break, 42-17.

Janay Brauer, who finished with 13 points, opened the third quarter with back-to-back three pointers as the momentum never faded in the second half. Offenses stalled for the next five minutes, before Lamar narrowed the lead to thirty by the end of the third quarter, 53-23.

Despite outscoring the Knights 21-15 over the final ten minutes, the deficit was too large for Lamar to overcome. North Platte saw their lead cut to twenty-six midway through the quarter, but they still held the momentum down the stretch as they secured their eighteenth win of the season.

North Platte finished 25-of-59 from the field, marking the ninth time this season that they have shot better than 40 percent of the field. Knights also connected on 11-of-25 three pointers (.440), while outrebounding Lamar, 47-37.

Knights (18-8) close out the regular season with four straight home games beginning with Southeast Community College on Saturday, Feb. 12. Tip between the Knights and Storm is set for 2 p.m. inside the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.