COLUMBUS – Despite being shorthanded, the Northeast Community College women’s basketball team went on the road to defeat Central Community College here, 88-77. The Hawks are now 22-2.
Northeast Coach Matt Svehla said illness and injuries limited his team in Tuesday’s contest. “Debinique Knowles and Annie Szczepaniak couldn’t really go due to illness and Lexi Murphy was out with an ankle injury that occurred the day before during practice. That meant that we were going to need to play some people more minutes than they are accustomed to playing.”
Although they looked fatigued at times, Svehla said the Hawks showed a good burst of energy in the second half. “The key was probably our defense. We picked it up after halftime. That solid defensive play led to some good transition baskets and we also shot a good percentage during the second half.”
While up by a 42-41 margin at half-time, that strong defense was evident as Northeast opened up an 80-56 lead at one point. The Hawks shot 54-percent in the second half.
Northeast was led by Alison Klostergaard’s 26 points and Ena Viso’s 22. Emily Gamble scored 16 points, Megan Trinder contributed 14 Yasmin Miller had eight and Szczepaniak had two.