EL DORADO, Kan. – After pulling within two at 42-40 with six minutes left in the third quarter, the Cloud County Community College women's basketball team would be outscored 33-16 over the final 16 minutes of action against 19th-ranked Butler Community College to fall by a score of 75-56 inside the Power Plant in El Dorado, Kansas on Saturday, February 11th.
 
Dropping their second game of the season to a nationally ranked Butler squad, Cloud County falls to 14-11 overall and 9-10 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference while the Grizzlies remain in second place in the KJCCC standings while improving to 21-4 overall and 16-4 in the KJCCC.
 
A quick start from the T-Birds would see CCCC erase a 2-0 deficit with six straight points all coming from Maimouna Sissoko as Cloud County would take a 6-2 lead just three minutes into the contest. Five missed shots and two turnovers by Butler throughout the opening four minutes of the game would be overcome by the Grizzlies as a layup and transition three on back-to-back possessions would allow BCC to reclaim the lead at 7-6. Cloud County would then get an Alize Ruiz three-point play as an answer to go back up by a 9-7 mark as the lead for CCCC would hold until the 2:16 mark of the opening quarter. With the score at 13-11 in favor of the T-Birds, Butler would use a 5-0 spurt to take their largest lead of the quarter at 16-13 before giving up a pair of free throws in the final minute to carry a one-point lead into the second quarter.
 
Getting back to even at 17-17 early in the second, CCCC would force four ties before the mid-way point of the quarter with the final tie coming at 22-22 with 5:39 left before halftime. A 7-2 Grizzly run would follow to put Butler up by a 29-24 advantage and their first two-possession lead of the contest as the deficit for Cloud County would range between two and six points for the rest of the half with four BCC free throws ending the half to put Butler up 38-32.
 
Trading buckets to open the second half, Cloud County would get within four at 40-36 before eventually cutting the deficit to two on a made Te Araroa Sopoaga triple with 6:01 left in the quarter. Following the triple from Sopoaga, Butler would hold Cloud County to just two points over the next four minutes of action as part of a 6-2 spurt to go back up six at 48-42. A made layup from Sissoko for the T-Birds would once again get CCCC within four at 48-44, but seven of the final nine points in the quarter would by scored by the Grizzlies to make it a 55-46 contest with 10 minutes remaining.
 
Following an empty possession from Butler and made Ruiz layup to open the fourth, Cloud County would see a 10-2 BCC run create a 15-point deficit with just under six minutes remaining and time becoming to a factor. Two quick buckets over the next minute by the T-Birds would give CCCC some life momentarily as Butler would respond by scoring 10 of the final 12 points and holding Cloud County to just one field goal in the final four minutes of the game.
 
Held to just two made threes in the game (two-of-13, 15.4 percent), Cloud County would shoot 34.4 percent (21-of-61) from the field and finish with an 85.7 percent (12-for-14) free throw percentage for the second-straight contest. The biggest difference in the game would come on turnovers as 25 T-Bird turnovers would lead to a 31-10 advantage for Butler in points off turnovers. CCCC would also see 53 of their 56 points come from their starting five while Butler would see 35 of their 75 points come from bench players.
 
Finishing with a team-high 16 points would be Ruiz who would also haul in 15 rebounds to sit one rebound shy of 300 rebounds for the season as the sophomore would hit on six of seven field goal attempts and make all four free throw attempts that she took. Sissoko would add 14 points and eight rebounds while Josephine Igherighe would score 13 points while playing a career-high 37 minutes. Butler would have four players in double figures including three starters and be led by reigning NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Player of the Week Freddie Wallace who scored 16 points and had six rebounds.
 
What's Next?
Having just concluded a stretch of three road games in a four-game stretch, Cloud County will now play three of their next four games over the next two weeks inside the friendly confines of Arley Bryant Gymnasium beginning on Wednesday, February 15th with a 5:30 PM matchup against KJCCC leader and 11th-ranked Dodge City Community College. The Conquistadors will carry a 15-game winning streak into the Hutchinson Sports Arena on Saturday evening and are 22-2 overall along with a 17-1 mark in the KJCCC.