PRATT, Kan. – An offensive explosion that would see host Pratt Community College score 29 points in the opening period would lead to an 87-74 road defeat for the Cloud County Community College women's basketball team at the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena in Pratt, Kansas on Saturday, December 3rd.
Falling for the first time in three weeks, CCCC falls to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference while the Beavers picked up their seventh win of the year to improve to 7-3 overall and 2-3 in the KJCCC.
The 87 points given up by Cloud County is the most that a T-Bird opponent has scored this year surpassing the previous high of 72 as Pratt would have 49 points at halftime to hold a 49-35 lead. CCCC had entered the game allowing just 52.8 points per contest and 56.8 points per game in conference play but would see a red-hot Beaver squad shoot 52.9 percent (27-of-51) from the field including an 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) mark from beyond the arc after starting the game by knocking down six of their seven three-point attempts in the first quarter. The T-Birds on the other hand would shoot just 32.5 percent (25-of-77) from the field and seven-for-32 (21.9 percent) from deep and would lead just once in the entire contest at 7-5 with 7:15 left in the first quarter.
A majority of Cloud County's offensive output would come from their starting five as the CCCC bench would account for just three points on the afternoon with sophomore
Alize Ruiz scoring a team-high 21 points to go along with 15 rebounds. Three of the five starters for the T-Birds would record double-doubles including Ruiz along with
Josephine Igherighe (16 points, 10 rebounds) and
Te Araroa Sopoaga (15 points, 10 rebounds) while
Lilly Smith would score 11 points to finish as the fourth player for CCCC in double-figures. Pratt would have three of their own players reach double-figures and would be led by a game-high 33 points from Princess Anderson who would play the entire contest and add five rebounds and four steals.
What's Next?
Cloud County returns home to host a pair of games next week inside Arley Bryant Gymnasium with Barton Community College coming to Concordia on Wednesday, December 7th for a 6 PM tip-off. After winning their first eight games of the year, Barton has dropped two of their past three games including a 59-50 setback at Coffeyville Community College on Saturday to fall to 9-2 overall and 3-2 in the KJCCC.
