Strong first half carries Thunderbirds to victory

Thatcher, ARIZONA (November 27, 2015)

The New Mexico Junior College Women's Basketball team didn't let an early Thanksgiving meal and a long bus ride slow them down, as they used a 28 point first quarter to take control of their first game of the Eastern Arizona Thanksgiving Classic against Pima Community College, to eventually defeat the Aztecs 71-46.

Freshman Ekatarina Zhibareva came in off the bench and poured in a career and game high, 16 points and nine rebounds. Zhibareva shot 6-of-9 from the field and nailed all four of her free throw attempts in just 17 minutes of action. Sophomore Nycolle Smith chipped in 10 points and six rebounds to round out the double digit scorers for the Thunderbirds.

Led by Zhibareva, the Thunderbirds bench outscored Pima 43-to-13 and out rebounded them by 12, 50-38. The Aztecs were held to 24.2% shooting for the game thanks to the pressure defense of the Thunderbirds who created 16 Aztec turnovers with 12 of them coming via the steal. 

The Thunderbirds (11-2; 0-0) will play tournament host, Eastern Arizona on Saturday at 2:00 P.M. MST. Eastern Arizona won at Caster Activity Center on October 31, 77-70.