Women's Basketball | 3/1/2025 10:58:00 PM

Box Score The Cloud County Community College women's basketball team fell to Butler Community College on Saturday, March 1 by a score of 76-57. The loss drops the T-Birds to 16-12 overall and 11-12 in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play.

In a back-and-forth first quarter that featured four lead changes and three ties, Cloud County received early three-pointers from freshmen forwards Lilliana Petersen and Shea Wurtz. Butler guard Keegan Yarick came out strong, scoring nine points in the opening ten minutes and the Grizzlies held a 16-14 advantage entering the second period.

The T-Birds trailed Butler 26-20 at the under five media timeout of the second quarter. Cloud County then put together a 10-3 run, capped by a three-pointer by freshman Lauren Marron, to give the T-Birds a 30-29 lead with 51 seconds remaining in the first half. Freshman guard DaNae Crosby followed with a basket in transition, pushing the Cloud County lead to three points at 32-29. Butler freshman Kenzie Galliart ended the half with a deep two-point jumper, trimming Cloud County's lead down to 32-31 at the break.

Cloud County stayed in front through the first five minutes of the second-half, leading by as many as four points in the third quarter. After tying the game twice, the Grizzlies regained the lead at 46-45 with 2:13 remaining in the third period on an offensive put back by sophomore Lucia Lara. Butler connected on 5-of-6 from the free-throw line and finished the quarter on a 7-2 run to lead 51-47 to start the fourth.

The Grizzlies carried their momentum into the fourth quarter. Freshman guard Destiny Smith was able to drive the paint and score on a contested layup, drawing a foul and connecting on the free-throw to give Butler its first double-digit lead of the game at 63-51 with 6:04 to play. Cloud County endured a long four minute and thirty two second scoring drought, falling behind by 20 points at 71-51 following a three-pointer by Smith with 3:30 to go. Butler outscored the T-Birds 25-10 in the fourth quarter and 45-25 in the second-half to pick up its 14th straight win in the series history.

Cloud County was led by Crosby and freshman forward Talasia Thomas who had 16 points each. Thomas pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, while Crosby led the team with six assists and two steals. Sophomore guard TiAna Davis added seven points, while Petersen and Wurtz both finished with five.

The T-Birds will close out the regular season on Wednesday, March 5 when they travel to Pratt to face the Pratt Beavers in a Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference match-up. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 pm from the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena.