Top-seeded Lady Mustangs down MCC women 65-60

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. – The McCook Community College women’s basketball team lost a 65-60 decision to Western Wyoming Thursday in the quarter-finals of the Region IX basketball tournament. The loss ended MCC’s season at 16-16.

“Western Wyoming is a heck of a team, they play hard and share the ball really well,” said MCC Coach Brandon Pritchett. “I thought we played really well, we competed, we defended well.”

MCC closed to within two points of the top seed from the north division with 4:22 left in the game but the Lady Mustangs hit key shots and tightened their defense to win on their home court. It was the first time in 10 years that Western Wyoming had won the regular season title and hosted the tournament. They improve to 22-9 and will take on Gillette College (22-10), the second seed in the north, in a semi-final game Friday.

It took 3:17 for the first basket of the game and then the Lady Mustangs caught their stride taking an 11-2 lead just past the mid-point of the first quarter. WWCC reclaimed a nine-point lead at the 3:19 mark, 16-7. The Lady Indians closed the gap to five points on a feed inside to freshman Stephanie Nnabuihe (freshman, Newbridge, Ireland) just before the buzzer to make it an 18-13 deficit for MCC after the first quarter.

Sophomore Laia Izquierdo Altimira (Barcelona, Spain) heated up in the second quarter from the 3-point line with three triples and 11 points to spark a 21-13 edge in the second quarter. Her third triple gave the Lady Indians their first lead with 1:47 left in the half to take a 32-31 lead held a 34-33 edge at intermission .

The Lady Indians upped the lead to 40-35 at the 6:50 mark in the third quarter, but WWCC responded with a pair of 3-pointers and four made free throws over a four-minute span to regain the lead, 45-40. The Lady Mustangs outscored MCC 17-8 in the third period and led 50-42 to start the fourth period.

“Western made a big run in the third, we gave up too many offensive rebounds, and didn't get to the foul line like we did in the last two games,” said Pritchett.

After Western took a 54-44 lead ninety seconds into the fourth period, freshman Miah Wren (Rangely, Colo.) caught fire and drained a pair of 3-pointers and hit a runner in the lane to cut the deficit to 57-55. It was the Lady Mustangs that hit a 3-pointer with 2:32 left and then made three free throws down the stretch before making a basket in the final minute of play.

“I'm so proud of our sophomores, we were hitting our peak at the right time the last couple weeks, we just ran into a really good Western Wyoming team,” said Pritchett.

MCC shot 41.7 percent from the field, made six of 12 shots from distance (50 percent) and went four of six from the free-throw line (66.7 percent). The Lady Indians held a 22-10 advantage in points off the bench.

Izquierdo Altimira led MCC with 18 points and made all four of her 3-point shots. Nnabuihe and sophomore Johanna Gerlach (Hachborn, Germany) both scored nine points and Wren had eight and was two-for-three from the 3-point line. Nnabuihe led the Lady Indians with seven rebounds. Freshman Claudia Serrador Cortazar (Trapagaran, Spain) had six rebounds and six points. Sophomore Carolina Garcia Perdomo (Islas Canarias, Spain) was a defensive standout un the game.

“Laia shot the ball well, Stephanie rebounded for us, Miah had some big threes,” said Pritchett. “Carol and Jojo did a great job defensively having to guard two of the best guards in the region.”

Western Wyoming shot 37.1 percent from the field, made eight of 24 shots from the 3-point line and 11 of 12 free throws (91.7 percent). The Lady Mustangs held a 35-34 rebound edge.

Maia Rhay led Western with 16 points, Peata Manumaleuga had 15 and Cami King hit four of six triples for 12 points.

In other semi-final games Thursday at Rushmore Gumnasium, all the top seeds won including Northwest College taking down Eastern Wyoming 67-61 in the opening day of the game. The south’s top seed Lamar was a 67-56 winner over fifth-seeded Central Wyoming and Gillette College was a 79-63 winner over Laramie County Community College.

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