CONCORDIA, KS – On the day the Northeast Community College women’s basketball team picked up its latest win, it entered the national rankings. The Hawks are 25th in this week’s National Junior College Athletic Association Division I rankings.
Meanwhile, Northeast was challenged in Tuesday night’s contest against Cloud County Community College, but held on to win the game on the road here, 68-64.
The Hawks led by 14 at halftime (38-24), but the Thunderbirds chipped away at the lead in the second half. “Some of it was our own lack of good play as we shot poorly, threw the ball away, and did not rebound, but I give Cloud credit for how they competed in the second half,” said Matt Svehla, Northeast coach. “They outplayed us for much of the second half, but we made some good plays when the game was on the line.”
Cloud County had the momentum in the second half, but it shifted when Lexi Murphy hit a big three pointer for Northeast and teammate Emily Gamble made a three point play. Clinging to a 66-64 lead, Cloud County had the ball and called timeout with 11.1 seconds remaining.
Svehla said his team needed to stop the Thunderbirds and get the rebound. ”Our team got the stop and Murphy got the rebound with less than two seconds remaining. Our defensive stop in the closing seconds was our best defensive possession of the entire game.” Murphy was fouled on the final rebound of the game with 1.1 seconds remaining and she made both free throws to make the final score 68-64.
Northeast shot 82 percent from the free throw line, connecting on 23 of 28 shots. The Hawks were led by Gamble’s 19 points followed by Murphy with 16 points. Yasmin Miller had 13 points, Megan Trinder finished with 11, Alison Klostergaard had five points and Ena Viso and Amelia Allington had two points each.
Northeast, now 11-0, will host the Midland University JV Friday night at the Cox Activities Center. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
