EL DORADO, Kan. – Erasing a seven-point halftime lead to tie things up at 47-47 heading to the fourth, the Cloud County Community College women's basketball team would see a late scoring drought allow number-10 Butler Community College to come away with a 65-57 win inside the Power Plant in El Dorado, Kansas on Monday, March 15th.

With the loss, Cloud County falls to 7-8 overall and 6-8 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference while the Grizzlies bounce back from their first loss of the year to improve to 14-1 overall and 13-1 in the KJCCC.

After allowing Butler to jump out to an early lead with five points in the opening 2:14 of the contest, CCCC would battle back to take their first lead of the game as three-straight layups give the T-Birds a 6-5 lead with six minutes left in the first quarter. The Grizzlies would then use a 7-2 run over the course of 2:08 to go back up by a score of 12-8, but Cloud County would again have a response as Rori Cox and Le'Yanna McGinnis would combine to score the next four points of the game to tie the score back up at 12-12 which is where the score would stand after 10 minutes of action.

Three lead changes in the opening minute-plus of the second quarter would set what would be a back and forth start to the period as neither team could create separation from the other. Butler would open the quarter with a made jumper before seeing McGinnis get a layup and free throw to briefly give CCCC a 15-14 lead just 1:02 into the quarter. BCCC would respond with eight of the next 10 points to take a five point lead at 22-17, but the T-Birds would once again have an answer with an Alyssa Castilleja triple sparking a 7-2 run to tie things at 24-24. The final 2:52 of the first half would see the Grizzlies go on a 9-2 run to end the half as Cloud County would be limited to a Cox jumper with 17 seconds left in the quarter to trail by a score of 33-26 at the break.

Butler would grab their largest lead of the game at 37-26 in the opening minute of the third quarter as Cloud County would be forced to face their first double-digit deficit of the contest. McGinnis and Cox would then take over on the offensive end as McGinnis would manage to score the next five points before turning things over to Cox for four more before Castilleja would cap off an 11-0 run with 5:35 left in the period. The T-Birds would then reclaim the lead momentarily on a McGinnis free throw before seeing BCCC get a layup as lead exchanges would be had five more times to end the quarter before finally seeing things settle at 47-47 heading to the fourth.  

Following a nearly scoreless two minutes to kick off the final 10 minutes of the game, Cloud County would see Butler reclaim the lead with a layup from Tamara Nard before Castilleja would give CCCC the lead one final time with a three with 6:08 remaining in the contest as BCCC would get a Cameren Downs free throw to tie things at 50-50. The free throw would start a 6-0 run for the Grizzlies as Cloud County would respond with layups from Cox and McGinnis to pull back within one, but then be limited to just three free throws down the stretch as Butler would pull away for the eight-point victory.

Holding Butler to a 37.7 percent (26-of-69) performance shooting, Cloud County would go 22-of-59 (37.3 percent) from the floor while also holding a 38-36 advantage in rebounds over the Grizzlies. Free-throw shooting would be the biggest issue for CCCC on the night as the T-Birds would go just 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) from the charity stripe as the 13 missed free throws more than made up the final difference.

Finishing with a game-high 27 points, McGinnis would also grab a game-best 14 rebounds including six offensive rebounds while also blocking three shots. Cox would join the sophomore in double-figures with 12 points while Castilleja would score eight off the bench. Butler would be led by a team-high 22 points in 26 minutes from Skyla Knight who would also add five assists.

What's Next?
Cloud County will look to avenge an earlier season loss on Wednesday night when they host Coffeyville Community College for a 6 PM tip-off on March 17th. The Red Ravens have moved into sole possession of second-place in the KJCCC East division following a 78-64 home win over Neosho on Monday night as Coffeyville has now won seven of their last eight games.