Cloud County Women Use Big Fourth Quarter to Pull Away from Concordia University JV for First Win

Flipping the script from their season opener this past Saturday, the Cloud County Community College women's basketball team would use a dominant fourth quarter to break open a 52-43 contest to pull away from the Concordia University JV team to earn an 80-57 home win inside Arley Bryant Gymnasium on Wednesday, November 8th.

The win allows Cloud County to even their record at 1-1 overall through two games this season as the T-Birds would kick off a five-game homestand with the 23-point victory.

A slow start on the offensive end for both teams would see CCCC and CUNE combine to shoot just nine-of-41 from the field in the opening 10 minutes of play as Concordia would score the first five points of the contest over the opening minute of action before seeing Cloud County get on the board with a Braylee Dale layup with 8:58 left in the first quarter to give the T-Birds their first home points of the year. After allowing a made layup by the Bulldogs, CCCC would use a Bailey Burns triple and another Dale layup to bring things even at 7-7 before trading baskets with CUNE to see the second tie of the quarter come with 6:20 left in the period. Getting out in transition off a Sarah Lawless defensive rebound, Cloud County would take their first lead of the contest with a Kirya Mack layup to put the T-Birds up 11-9 as scoring would come to a near stop over the final three and-a half minutes of the quarter with Concordia managing just one field goal while seeing a pair of Josephine Igherighe free throws account for scoring by CCCC to give the T-Birds a 13-11 lead after one quarter of play.

Following a turnover on their opening possession of the second period, CCCC would use a triple by Burns to extend their lead to five at 16-11 and kick off a 15-3 run over the opening 7:55 of the quarter to give Cloud County their largest lead of the half at 28-14. After limiting Concordia to just one made basket over the first eight minutes of the quarter, the T-Birds would see the Bulldogs connect on a fast break trey to get back within 11 before hitting on another triple just 40 seconds later to get back within single digits at 28-20. CCCC would go on to score four of the final seven points of the half with Maimouna Sissoko getting a layup to go along with two more Igherighe free throws as the T-Birds would push their lead back to nine at 32-23 with 16 seconds left in the half before getting a defensive stop to end the second.

Momentum for either squad would be limited in the third as both teams would seemingly answer whatever offense the other could muster as the first 20 points of the quarter would be traded back and forth with the score continuing to hover between seven and 11 points. Holding a 42-33 lead after seeing freshman Darcy Lierz hit an open jumper, Cloud County would allow Concordia to get a three-point play to pull within six and eventually get within five at 48-43 following a made triple with 2:07 left in the quarter. The T-Birds would respond following the made trey by holding the Bulldogs scoreless the rest of the period while using layups from Burns and Mack in transition to push their lead back out to where the quarter started with CCCC holding a 53-42 lead with both teams putting up 20 points in the period.

Things wouldn't come easy initially in the fourth for Cloud County as Concordia would allow a quick layup to Dale before hitting back-to-back triples on their next two possessions to get back within five at 54-49 with 8:48 left in the contest. Continuing to work a size advantage in the paint, CCCC would get a three-point play from Mack to push the lead back out to eight and kick off a 12-2 run that would be capped off by a steal and layup from Mack to put the T-Birds up 64-51 as the Bulldogs would be forced to call a timeout to try and keep things from getting out of reach. The timeout would have little effect however as Cloud County would add to their run by scoring the next nine points and holding CUNE scoreless for a span of 5:19 to build a 24-point lead and never let the advantage fall back below 20 as the damage would be done and CCCC would cruise over the final three minutes of action for the win.

Nearly matching their first-half output with their fourth-quarter scoring spurt, the T-Birds would hit 12 of their 32 shots in the game in the final 10 minutes of action while shooting 39.5 percent (32-of-81) from the field to go along with a 40.0 percent (four-of-10) outing from three and 12-of-15 (80.0 percent) effort from the free throw line. Concordia would shoot just 26.8 percent (22-of-82) from the field and put up 42 three-point attempts, converting just eight for a 19.0 percent three-point field goal percentage while going to the charity stripe eight total times (five-of-eight, 62.5 percent). Cloud County would hold a 70-37 advantage in rebounds which included 28 offensive rebounds that would lead to 20 second-chance points while also getting 12 points off turnovers and 18 fast break points.

Scoring a game-high 18 would be Dale while also grabbing 12 rebounds for her first double-double of the year while Sissoko would record an 11-point, 15-rebound double-double of her own. Mack (15), Igherighe (14), and Burns (10) would also reach double-figures in the scoring column, with Lawless providing 10 rebounds and eight points in 23 minutes of action off the bench. Concordia would be led by a team-best 17-point outing from Bree Bunting, who also had four rebounds, two assists, and four steals.  

What's Next?
Saturday afternoon hoops action inside Arley Bryant Gymnasium will kick off at 2 PM on November 11th as CCCC will play host to Northeast Community College. The Hawks are off to a 0-2 start this season after dropping a pair of home contests this season, including their most recent game on Tuesday, November 7th when they fell to Southeast Community College by a score of 79-74. Northeast has won each of the past two meetings between teams, including a 71-65 decision last season in Norfolk, NE. Cloud County last won over the Hawks during the 2018-19 season with an 85-44 win coming on the road.