Lady T-Birds eliminated in NJCAA national quarterfinals
NMJC wraps up season at 29-4
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
34 | 44 | 78 |
|
|
27 | 37 | 64 |
Team Stats
Walters State Community College
New Mexico Junior College
| Game Statistics | Walters State Community College | New Mexico Junior College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (27-52) | (22-50) |
| Field Goal % | 51.9% | 44.0% |
| Rebounds | 39 | 21 |
| Assists | 11 | 7 |
| Turnovers | 21 | 15 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 20 | 13 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 17 | 0 |
| Bench Pts | 26 | 6 |
SALINA, Kan. — Hopes of an epic comeback looked bright when the No. 4 New Mexico Junior College women's basketball team went on a 13-0 run against No. 5 Walters State to cut what was once a 20-point deficit to 59-52 with 7:49 remaining.
However, the Lady Senators went on a 9-0 run to cut the rally short as the Lady Thunderbirds' season came to a close with a 78-64 loss in the NJCAA National Tournament quarterfinals Thursday at the Bicentennial Center.
Unlike its second-round win Tuesday where it led from wire-to-wire, NMJC (29-4) trailed much of Thursday's contest – leading for only 2:04 of the game. The Lady T-Birds' final lead was 4-3 with 17:58 left as a 10-2 run by Walters State (32-2) made it 12-6.
NMJC found itself down double digits at 23-12 with 8:20 remaining as the Lady T-Birds went cold offensively (shot 36 percent in the first half).
"You have to give all the credit in the world to Walters because they played an outstanding game," NMJC coach Drew Sanders said. "But we came out with no energy and you can't do that at this level. The focus and energy wasn't there."
NMJC trailed 34-27 heading into the half but a 12-2 run by the Lady Senators to start the second half pushed the Walters State advantage to 46-29 with 16:42 left.
The Lady Senators' lead reached 20 points with 10:30 left after a Bria White 3-pointer made it 59-39 before NMJC's 13-0 run.
However it wasn't enough as the Lady T-Birds' third trip to the national tournament in four years ended in the quarterfinals.
Angelica de Paulo led NMJC with 15 points, Alana da Silva had 12 points, Kelsey Criner had 12 points, three assists and four steals, Viktoriia Kotilevskaia had 10 points and Antoina Robinson had nine points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Arjae Sanders paced Walters State with 14 points while Tangela Crenshaw had 11 points and nine rebounds as eight Lady Senators had six points or more.
