T-Bird Women’s Basketball Ends Season in Round of 16

The New Mexico Junior College women's basketball team finished their season Friday after a 61-58 defeat to College of Southern Idaho in the Round of 16 at the NJCAA Women's Basketball Championship.

The T-Birds began the game in front with a layup by sophomore forward Danna Grenald. The bucket gave NMJC a 6-4 lead with 7:00 to go in the first half. That proved to be the only lead the Thunderbirds would have the rest of the afternoon.

The CSI Golden Eagles maintained a narrow lead the rest of the first quarter and were up by five points, 14-9, after a quarter of play.

The deficit was larger in the second quarter with CSI opening up a 31-18 lead with 4:45 to go in the quarter. The T-Birds put a dent in the margin over the next three minutes of play to cut into the deficit with a 5-0 run following a Grenald free throw to make the score 31-23. A CSI three-pointer with 53 seconds left in the half pushed the lead back to double digits, 34-23. 

The T-Birds chipped away at the Golden Eagle lead throughout the third quarter. NMJC got within seven points at the 4:11 and 3:11 mark, but CSI continued to push their lead back to double digits. The Thunderbirds would trail after three quarters, 52-41. 

CSI made a layup to start the fourth quarter with a 13-point lead, tying their largest lead of the game with the score 54-41. The clock began to tick away, but then the Thunderbirds caught fire with 3:30 remaining and trailing by 10 points, 59-49. 

Madina Camara made a layup to make the score 59-51. Grenald followed up the layup with one of her own at the 2:32 mark to cut the deficit to six points, 59-53. Delma Zita made a pull-up jumper from the free throw line on the following possession to cut it to four points, 59-55, with 1:52 to go.

CSI turned the ball over on their next possession, which led to a Madina Camara three-point basket. In a span of two minutes, the T-Birds made it a one-possession game, 59-58 with 1:25 to go in the second half.

A steal by Zita gave the T-Birds an opportunity to take their first lead since the 7:00 minute mark in the first quarter. NMJC passed the ball inside to Grenald who put up a fadeaway jumper from the elbow that missed the mark with 49 seconds left in the game. 

CSI grabbed the rebound and flew down the court to take a surprisingly quick shot, but it did not fall. The Thunderbirds snatched the rebound and pushed the ball up the floor trying to find Grenald inside. The sophomore forward was pushed away from the hoop and near the right sideline, giving her little room to work with. This caused Zita to drive baseline to create room, however she stepped on the line and turned the ball over.  

A pair of free throws by Alyssa Christensen pushed the CSI lead to three points, 61-58. The T-Birds advanced the ball with 10.1 seconds remaining after calling a timeout. The inbound went to Duda Raimundo who swung it over to Bianca Juzzo. The Kent State signee took a few dribbles and found Raimundo open coming off a screen. Raimundo hoisted the three-pointer before the clock expired, but the game-tying shot missed long as the buzzer sounded.  

Delma Zita finished her final game in a Thunderbird uniform with 16 points, three steals, and three assists. The sophomore guard will continue her collegiate career at Wichita State. 

Danna Grenald posted her fourth straight double-double recording 23 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes of action. The sophomore forward will play for the Clemson Tigers next year in the ACC.

Sophomore forward Bianca Juzzo finished with eight points and five rebounds in her last game as a T-Bird. Sophomore Sandra Magolico finished with six rebounds and four points as she capped off her productive career in Hobbs.

The starters for NMJC scored 56 of the team's 58 points with Raimundo accounting for two points off the bench. The sophomores for the T-Birds scored every point in Friday's 61-58 loss to College of Southern Idaho.

The Thunderbirds forced 22 turnovers, shot 25-of-62 (40.3%) from the field, 1-for-9 (11.1%) from the three-point line, and 7-of-9 (77.8%) from the free throw line.

NMJC women's basketball finished the 2022-23 season with a 26-6 (11-3) record.