CONCORDIA, Kan. – Led by three starters in double-figures, the Cloud County Community College women's basketball team would snap a three-game Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference losing streak by defeating Pratt Community College 70-53 inside Arley Bryant Gymnasium in Concordia, Kansas on Saturday, December 4th.
Improving to 6-5 overall, Cloud County is now 2-3 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference while winning their third straight over Pratt. PCC is now 2-7 overall while falling to 1-4 in the KJCCC while suffering their third straight defeat.
Getting off to a slow start on the offensive end of things, Cloud County would be able to whether one of their lowest-scoring opening quarters of the season by putting together a strong defensive effort with neither team able to lead by more than four. Trading the opening 10 points of the game, Cloud County would then see Pratt regain the lead on a Karolina Juresiute runner before getting a layup from
Te Araroa Sopoaga to tie things up and claim their first lead of the game on a
Paula Puzule three less than a minute later. PCC would score the next three points of the game to tie things up again at 10-10 with 3:50 left in the opening quarter and would take their final lead 35 seconds later on another Juresiute jump shot. Scoring the final six points of the quarter would be the T-Birds thanks in part to a layup from
Rori Cox to go along with a Sopoaga jumper and Puzule field goal that would stake CCCC to a 16-12 lead after 10 minutes of action.
A 7-1 run by Cloud County to open the second quarter would allow the T-Birds to take a double-digit lead at 23-13 as Puzule would hit her third triple of the contest with 7:15 left before halftime. Following a three-point response from the Beavers, CCCC would get another trey from Puzule to go back up 10 as the lead would not drop below nine the rest of the first half. The T-Bird offense would use the created momentum to net a total of 23 points in the quarter as things would become a 39-26 lead for Cloud County heading to halftime.
Doubling up Pratt 8-4 in the opening three minutes of the second half, Cloud County would build on their lead to go up 17 at 47-30 with 7:18 remaining in the third quarter en route to taking a 20-point lead on a Puzule three with 4:20 left in the third. Six-straight points from PCC would cut the lead from 20 down to 14, but Cloud County would score nine of the final 11 points of the period including a layup from Cox who went the length of the floor in the final five seconds to make it a 61-40 lead.
Cloud County's largest lead of the game would come with 6:54 left in the contest as Sopoaga would cap off a 7-3 run to open the final quarter of action to put CCCC up 68-43. The T-Birds would trade the next two buckets with the Beavers before allowing PCC to end the game by scoring eight of the final nine points as Cloud County would cruise to their sixth victory of the year.
Holding a 36-22 lead in points in the paint and 21-12 lead in points off turnovers, Cloud County would finish the game with a 46.7 percent (28-of-60) field goal percentage while hitting on seven-of-20 (35.0 percent) of their attempts from three. The rebounding margin would be a 39-39 deadlock with 14 of Pratt's 25 rebounds coming on the offensive end.
Scoring a game-high and new career-high would be Puzule with six three-point field goals while also grabbing seven rebounds and recording three steals. Cox would finish with 17 points and six rebounds in 31 minutes of action while Sopoaga would play 38 of a possible 40 minutes and score 14 points to go along with 14 rebounds. Pratt would finish with three players in double-figures including a team-high 16 points from Chariah Daniels.
What's Next?
CCCC will play each of its two games next week away from home, beginning on Wednesday, December 8th with a 5:30 PM tip-off at Barton County Community College. The Cougars fell to 4-7 overall and 1-4 in the KJCCC after a 78-72 home loss to Coffeyville on Saturday afternoon, with their lone conference win coming over Hutchinson on November 27th. Three of Barton's four wins this season have come at home for the Cougars.
