Big Second Half Sees Cloud County Women Blow Past Northeast at Home, 79-48

Causing 27 turnovers that would lead to 33 points, the Cloud County Community College women's basketball team would take a 12-point lead into halftime before outscoring visiting Northeast Community College by a 36-19 margin in the second half to earn a 79-48 win inside Arley Bryant Gymnasium on Saturday, November 11th.

A second consecutive win for Cloud County allows the T-Birds to improve to 2-1 overall while Northeast remains winless through three games on the season at 0-3.

Following a slow start from both teams that would see just eight points scored in the opening 3:23 of the game, Cloud County would use a pair of Braylee Dale free throws to start what would become a 12-3 run as two three-point buckets from Destiny Smith would allow CCCC to push their lead to nine at 16-7 with 4:06 left in the opening quarter. Smith's third triple of the opening period would give the T-Birds a double-digit advantage just under a minute later in the quarter as Cloud County would lead by as many as 11 at 22-11 before seeing a Northeast triple and pair of Hawk free throws cut the lead back down to six at 22-16 to end the quarter.

Things would remain tight throughout the opening two-plus minutes of the second period as Northeast would manage to trade the first eight points again before seeing a Sarah Lawless offensive rebound and put back as part of a 14-0 run that would turn a six-point contest into an 18-point T-Bird advantage following a Josephine Igherighe three-point play with 5:14 left in the first half. Following the run from CCCC, NECC would respond by scoring six of the next eight points before seeing Cloud County turn to the free throw line for their final three points of the first half as no field goals would be made by either squad over the final three-and-a-half minutes of the second quarter to see the T-Birds take a 43-29 lead into the locker room.

Scoring the first six points of the second half, Cloud County would push their lead to the 20-point mark on a made Maimouna Sissoko layup with 7:49 left in the third quarter as the T-Birds would come out of the intermission break by scoring 14 of the first 17 points to balloon their lead to 25 at 57-32. Holding Northeast to just two made three-point field goals over the opening 6:13 of the quarter to account for all six Hawk points, Cloud County would continue to add to their lead throughout the remainder of the quarter as a 21-6 scoring advantage in the period would lead to a 64-35 advantage heading into the fourth.

Not much would change in the final 10 minutes of action as the offense for CCCC would continue to stay in rhythm by scoring eight of the first 10 points over the first four-plus minutes of the period with the advantage reaching as many as 37at 76-39 with 5:02 left in the game. Without the worry of Northeast mounting a potential late comeback, CCCC would be able to cruise the rest of the way while seeing the Hawks manage to score nine of the final 12 points to see the final margin of victory land at 31.

Relying on a size advantage in the paint, Cloud County would shoot 42.0 percent (29-of-69) from the floor despite a five-of-19 (26.3 percent) outing from beyond the arc and less than ideal 64.0 percent (16-of-25) free throw shooting percentage. The T-Birds would out rebound Northeast 52-32 and double up the Hawks in points in the paint (40-20) while also holding an 11-3 advantage in second-chance points. Northeast would see six of their 16 made field goals come free thee, shooting 29.6 percent (16-of-54) from the field and six-for-20 (30.0 percent) from deep.

All five starters for CCCC would reach double-figures in the scoring column with the starters accounting for all but 14 points on the day with Sissoko scoring a game-high 18 points. The Bamako, Mali native would add 14 rebounds for a double-double while seeing Bailey Burns (15 points, eight assists) and Dale (10 points, nine rebounds) both come up just short of double-double performances of their own. Northeast would be led by a 12-point outing from Stevi Fallis while also getting 10 points from Allison Richards.

What's Next?
A three-game week next week is scheduled for Cloud County to begin on Monday, November 13th as CCCC will host the Bethany College JV team at 6 PM. Bethany JV will have split-squad action on Monday evening, with the Swede JV team also having a game scheduled against Allen Community College on Monday evening.