Lady Rattlers top MCC Women, 82-71

LA JUNTA, Colo. – The Otero Junior College women picked up an important Region IX South win Friday night at home topping McCook Community College 82-71.

The Lady Rattlers came out with a 20-14 first-quarter lead and stretched it to 44-25 at halftime.

“We had a terrible first half and put ourselves in a hole that we just never got out of,” said MCC Coach Brandon Pritchett.”

MCC held serve 23-23 in the third quarter and outscored Otero 23-15 over the final 10 minutes.

With the win, the Lady Rattlers move into third place in the Region IX standings at 8-5. MCC falls back to 7-6 and (14-15 overall). They are in a tie for fourth place. This is the Lady Indians’ fourth straight loss in the region.

Otero shot 45.8 percent from the floor, made 11 of 23 shots from beyond the arc (47.8 percent) and went five of seven from the free throw line (71.4 percent). The Lady Rattlers were credited with 23 assists.

“Otero shot the ball really well, and we gave them a lot of open easy shots,” said Pritchett. “We didn't shoot it well and missed way too many shots in the paint.”

MCC shot 32.4 percent from the field, went four of 14 from distance (28.6 percent) and made 19 of 27 free throws (70.4 percent). The Lady Indians held a 39-36 rebound edge and turned the ball over 13 times.

Sophomore Miriam Wahlqvist (Helsingborg, Sweden) scored 19 points off the bench to lead MCC. She made eight of 12 shots from the field and was three-for-five from the free-throw line with four rebounds.

Johanna Gerlach (sophomore, Hachborn, Germany) and Miah Wren (freshman, Rangely, Colo.) both scored 11 points. Wren came off the bench to made three of four 3-pointers.

“Miriam and Miah were the exception to our off-shooting night,” said Pritchett. “Miah finally shot the ball with confidence and took open shots like we've been asking her to do. Miriam was aggressive and did a great job of being in the right spots on the floor to make plays.”

Laia Izquierdo Altimira (sophomore, Barcelona, Spain) led MCC with seven rebounds and added seven points. Stephanie Nnabuihe (freshman, Newbridge, Ireland) nabbed six boards.

The Lady Indians had 41 points off the bench.

Lamar leads the south standings at 11-2, Western Nebraska second at 9-4. North Platte had a one-point win at Trinidad Friday and moves into a fourth-place tie with MCC at 7-6, Northeastern JC and Southeast CC tied for sixth at 5-8, and Trinidad eighth at 0-13.

The top four teams in the standings will have home-court advantage next weekend for the Region IX tournament opening round of games against teams from the Region IX North.

“We just need put things together tomorrow and play a complete game on both ends of the floor,” said Pritchett.

MCC will close out the regular season Saturday afternoon at Trinidad.

Up-to-date information about MCC women’s basketball including livestream links for home games, schedule, statistics, rosters, photos and more can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com