Cloud County Women's Basketball Team Suffers First Loss at Northeast, 71-65

After averaging eight made three-point attempts per game in the first four games of the season, the Cloud County Community College women's basketball team would be held to just two made shots from beyond the arc while dropping a 71-65 road contest to Northeast Community College inside the Cox Activities Center in Norfolk, Nebraska on Saturday, November 12th.

Falling for the first time on the year, Cloud County drops to 4-1 overall with the defeat while the Hawks remain perfect and move to 4-0 after winning in the battle of unbeaten teams.

Falling behind by a score of 11-4 early on, CCCC would be forced to play from behind and put together a 9-1 run that would be capped by a Maimouna Sissoko layup with just 1:17 left in the opening quarter to take a 13-12 lead. The T-Birds would then add to their lead with a pair of Makayla Twyman free throws and Josephine Igherighe layup in the final seconds of the first as the Cloud County defense would allow just one Northeast free throw over the 7:01 of the quarter.

The five-point lead for the T-Birds would grow to seven in the opening minutes of the second as Sarah Lawless would get a layup to put CCCC up 21-14 with 8:19 left in the first half. Northeast would respond with a made three to cut the deficit to four before giving up four straight points for Cloud County that would give the T-Birds their largest lead of the game at 25-17. A 10-0 spurt in the span of 1:12 for the Hawks would turn Cloud County's eight-point advantage into a two-point deficit as CCCC would suffer nearly a three-minute scoring drought. Tying the game at 27-27 with an Alize Ruiz layup to break the Northeast run, the Hawks would then end the first half of play by going on a second 10-0 run to put Cloud County in a hole at the half for just the second time this season.

A made three by Northeast on the opening possession of the second half would allow the Hawks to extend their lead to 13 before seeing Cloud County hit their first three of the game on the ensuing possession after missing on all six attempts in the first half.  Getting the deficit back under 10 just 15 seconds later, CCCC would see the Hawks push their lead back out to 12 before finally managing to go on a 7-0 run to get back within five midway through the third quarter. Northeast would follow with seven of the next 10 points to go back up by a nine-point margin with three minutes left in the quarter and would eventually go back up by a 13-point margin following two made free throws with seven seconds left in the period.

Facing a 59-46 deficit heading into the final 10 minutes of action, the deficit for the T-Birds would grow to a game-high 15 with five-straight points to open the quarter as Cloud County would be on the verge of seeing the game get out of reach. A made three from Lawless would start an 8-0 run over a span of five minutes to get back within seven with 1:27 remaining as time would now be the biggest factor facing CCCC. One made free throw by Northeast would put the margin back at eight momentarily before seeing Cloud County get a made layup to get within two possessions with just over a minute remaining before pulling within five at 69-64 with 30 seconds remaining. Forced to foul, Northeast would manage to connect on both free throw attempts to put the game back at a seven-point margin as time would ultimately run out on a potential Cloud County rally.

Hampered by 20 turnovers which led to 26 points for Northeast, Cloud County would shoot 34.9 percent (22-of-63) from the field and a season-low 11.1 percent (two-of-18) from three. A missed opportunity at the free throw line would see CCCC go 19-of-30 (63.3 percent) from the line as the T-Birds would shoot 13 more free throws than Northeast but make just six more than the Hawks.

Tying for the team lead in scoring, Te Araroa Sopoaga and Sissoko would both finish with 14 points while playing 38 and 37 minutes each as four players for the T-Birds would reach double figures. For the third time this season, Ruiz would finish with a double-double after scoring 10 points and grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds while Igherighe would finish just two rebounds shy of a double-double after scoring 10 points and hauling in eight rebounds. Northeast would be led by a game-best 25 points from Allison Richards and see their starting five account for 63 of their 71 total points.  

What's Next?
Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play begins on Wednesday for Cloud County when the Northwest Kansas Technical College Mavericks come to Arley Bryant Gymnasium for a 6 PM tip-off on November 16th. The Mavs are 4-1 on the year after winning all three games they played over the weekend at the Otero Classic in La Junta, Colorado. Last season, Cloud County swept NW KS Tech in their two games series last year, taking an 80-55 decision last November before winning 66-60 in January.