PARK CITY, Kansas — Cloud County Community College women's basketball head coach Brett Erkenbrack had a gut feeling his T-Birds were destined to be one of the final four Region VI teams fighting for a spot at the NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship.

That vision came to fruition Monday as Cloud County exploded for 48 second half points, much of it created from lockdown defense, en route to an 82-62 victory over a talented Coffeyville Community College team.

"We continued our trend of late of playing really good, solid basketball. Now we're closer to our ultimate goal," Erkenbrack said. "I thought all along, since Day One, I felt it was going to be Hutchinson, Seward County, Cowley and us that would ultimately be here in the end. It just so happened that it worked out that way."

Cloud County (23-8 overall, 18-8 KJCCC) moves on to today's semi-final matchup against No. 1 seeded Seward County.

The T-Birds were tested early by the Red Ravens (21-10 overall, 19-7 KJCCC), trailing Coffeyville 35-34 at the half after being held to 29.7 percent shooting through the first 20 minutes.

Cloud County righted the ship quick in the third quarter, though, as it went on a 15-4 through the first five minutes of the second half to build a 49-39 lead.

Leading the charge were sophomores Chelcie Kizart, Shannon Owens and Simone Walker.

Kizart continued her torrid last two weeks as she scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, many coming on run outs and transition opportunities spawned by defensive stops.

Cloud County forced 16 turnovers and converted those into 18 points.

"We talked the last couple days about our defense and that we could win this game with our defense if we would defend," Erkenbrack said. "I thought we had a lot of breakdowns in the first half, but the third quarter was great. Alexis Gifford gave us a huge lift off with bench with her defense and hustle plays."

Owens and Walker, as well as sophomore Erin Alexander, dominated inside for Cloud County, which finished with a 46-28 advantage in points in the paint.

Alexander tallied 11 points, eight rebounds and seven blocked shots. Owens reached a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. And Walker played arguable her best game since the calendar flipped to 2017 as she scored 13 points, dished out two assists, and had two steals while not committing a turnover in her 22 minutes.

"That's the best she has looked for a long time," said Erkenbrack, referring to Walker's lift. "She gave us a lot of activity. She was active around the basket, finished some plays, and that was really good to see."

Cloud County will look to keep its six-game winning streak alive at 3 p.m. today when it squares off against the Seward County Lady Saints inside Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas. The winner faces the Cowley-Hutchinson winner in the Region VI Championship game, scheduled for 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

The T-Birds had the Lady Saints on the ropes in their last meeting back on January 25 before falling 83-78. They'll try to finish the job Tuesday.

"Certainly we will have our work cut out for us (Tuesday) with Seward County," Erkenbrack said. "But if we play well, I like our chances."

Notes: Sophomore guard Kaley Broeckelman finished with nine points and made two 3-pointers. She is now just five 3-pointers shy of tying Amy Chapman's school record for most made 3-point field goals in a career.