Seven Reach Double-Figures as Cloud County Women End Regular Season with 117-72 Drubbing of Northwest Kansas Tech

Shooting over 61 percent from the floor in the opening period and jumping out to a 30-16 lead, the Cloud County Community College women's basketball team broke the century mark with 6:25 left in the contest and led by as many as 47 on their way to a 117-72 drubbing of Northwest Kansas Technical College inside Max Jones Fieldhouse in Goodland, Kansas on Wednesday, March 6th.

Ending their 29-game regular season with a 14-15 overall record, Cloud County finishes Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play with a 10-14 record while NW KS Tech ends their season with a 3-25 overall record and 2-22 mark in the KJCCC.

Trailing for the opening two minutes of play after seeing the Mavericks connect on made three-point field goals in each of their first two trips down the floor, Cloud County relied on getting inside the paint with Maimouna Sissoko scoring six of the first nine T-Bird points to help CCCC keep things tied up at 9-9 after the first 3:25 of the contest. A Darcy Lierz layup allowed Cloud County to take their second lead of the game at 11-9 while sparking a 12-0 run that put the T-Birds up 21-9 with just under four minutes left in the opening quarter as the lead grew to as many as 17 on a Sarah Lawless layup with 1:41 left in the period. Northwest Tech responded by scoring five straight to get back within 12 at 28-16 but allowed a Josephine Igherighe layup in the final seconds as Cloud County put up 30 points in the quarter to go up 30-16.

The T-Bird lead remained in double-digits throughout the second quarter with CCCC seeing their advantage bounce back and forth between 12 and 18 points before eventually cracking the 20-point mark on a Lierz Layup with just over three minutes left before halftime that put Cloud County up 49-29. Extending their lead with an Igherighe free throw and made field goal from Sissoko to go up 52-29, the T-Birds traded 4-0 spurts with the Mavericks before seeing the final five points of the first half scored by NWKT to bring the CCCC back under 20 and settle at 56-38 heading into halftime.

Scoring the first seven points of the third quarter, Cloud County grew their 18-point halftime lead out to 25 at 63-38 while holding Northwest Tech off the scoreboard for the first 2:47 of the second half as the advantage for the T-Birds continued to grow throughout the quarter. Threatening to push their lead out to the 30-point mark just past the midway point of the quarter, CCCC saw their offensive momentum slow down as the Mavericks went on a 9-3 run to get back within 22 at 76-54 before allowing a 12-2 run to end the quarter give Cloud County an 88-56 lead going to the fourth.

Another strong start to a quarter by CCCC saw the T-Birds score 10 of the first 13 points to essentially put the game out of reach as the advantage got up to 39 at 98-59 with 6:52 left in the game. Following a made Maverick triple, Cloud County traded layups back-and-forth over before getting a Cadence Nondorf jumper and pair of Igherighe free throws to get their lead to the 40-point margin before using an 11-2 run to take their largest lead of the game at 115-68 with just over two minutes left and finishing off their largest win of the year.

Controlling most statistical categories, Cloud County finished the game shooting 51.2 percent (43-of-84) from the field and seven-of-28 (25.0 percent) from three while going 24-for-33 (72.7 percent) from the charity stripe while limiting the Mavericks to just 10 total free throw attempts. NWKT shot 40.3 percent (29-of-72) from the floor and 12-of-34 (35.3 percent) from three while getting outscored 28-12 in points off turnovers and 62-28 in points in the paint as Cloud County held a 60-29 advantage in rebounds which helped contribute to a 24-0 advantage in second-chance points.

Seven different T-Birds including all five starters reached double-figures with Sissoko scoring a game-high 28 points while Igherighe scored 25 points and had 12 rebounds. Lawless grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with 11 points off the bench while Lierz had a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double with Destiny Smith (14), Nondorf (14), and Bailey Burns (10) also reaching double-digit point totals. Northwest Tech was led by a team-high 20 from Alexzandria Thompson and had five players in double-figures.

What's Next?
After finishing in a three-way tie for eighth place in the final KJCCC standings, Cloud County is expected to be on the road for their opening round matchup of the 2024 NJCAA Region VI Tournament which is set to begin on Saturday, March 9th. The T-Birds finished the regular season in a tie for eighth with Independence and Cowley, with Cowley winning the tiebreaker (overall record vs tied opponents) and Cloud County finishing second in the tiebreaker. The tiebreak should set up a trip to Arkansas City, Kansas for CCCC as the number-nine seed in the upcoming tournament, taking on eighth-seeded Cowley. More information will be released once seedings and pairings are made official by the KJCCC office.