Bacoul’s 36 points leads MCC women to 92-75 win

RIVERTON, Wyo. – Behind 36 points from Gemma Gruettner Bacoul, the McCook Community College women rolled to a 92-75 win Friday over Dawson Community College. The win over the Montana school came in the opening game of the Central Wyoming Classic.

The Lady Indians raced out to a 27-12 first quarter lead and never trailed.

“We came out and played really well in the first 10 minutes,” said MCC Coach Brandon Pritchett. “We set a tone for the game, we just have to maintain that and continue to put pressure on our opponent.”

The Buccaneers chipped at the lead outscoring MCC 23-21 in the second and 23-14 in the third quarters, but MCC finished with a 30-17 fourth-quarter advantage.

Gruettner Bacoul, the sophomore guard from Berlin, Germany, made 10 of 13 field goals for the game, went three-for-five from the 3-point line and sank 13 of 18 free-throw shots. She also led the team with 11 rebounds.

“Gemma was aggressive on the offensive end, got into her shot and we found her for open looks,” said Pritchett. “Audra and Sue both shot the ball, and we need to be able to stretch the defense.”

Sophomore transfer Suzan Sisman (Aarhus, Denmark) scored 17 points, making three of seven 3-pointers. Freshman Madara Liepniece (Riga, Latvia) chipped in 14 points with four field goals and went six-for-nine from the charity stripe. Sophomore transfer Audra Vine (Thornton, Colo.) scored 10 points.

Ebba Zalamans (sophomore transfer, Stockhom, Sweden) snagged six offensive boards and eight total, and scored five points. Noa Iglesias Chorda (sophomore, Barcelona, Spain) grabbed seven rebounds to go along with four points and Natalie Harmata (Sydney, Australia) scored four points and sophomore Rebecca Dunn (Colorado Springs, Colo.) came off the bench and grabbed four rebounds.

MCC shot 49.2 percent from the field, made nine of 17 shots from the 3-point line (52.9 percent), and went 19 of 28 from the free-throw line (71.4 percent.) The Lady Indians outrebounded DCC 36-34 and turned the ball over 20 times.

“We are shooting the ball better as a team, finding the open teammate and making better decisions offensively,” said Pritchett.

Dawson CC shot 44.4 percent for the game, made three of 18 3-point shots (16.7 percent), and made 16 of 34 free throws (47.1 percent). The Bucs had 18 turnovers and with the loss fall to 2-2 on the season.

“This is a good start to our weekend, and we need to come out tomorrow and continue to get better,” said Pritchett.

MCC improves to 2-2 and continues in the Central Wyoming Classic Saturday at noon in a game against a team of Wyoming all-stars.

Up-to-date information about MCC basketball including schedules, statistics, rosters and photos can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com.