Midland Hands No. 1 NMJC 2nd Loss of Season
NMJC women's basketball dropped just their second game of the season 87-78 to Midland College on Thursday night.
The Thunderbirds held a narrow 22-21 lead after the first quarter which saw both teams shoot 50% from the field.
NMJC was locked in a stalemate in the second and almost headed into the break tied 37-37 but a foul 80 feet away from the basket with .3 seconds left on the clock gave the Chaps two free throws and a two-point lead at the break.
Third quarter scoring has been the bread and butter for NMJC so far this season. Thursday night Midland took advantage. The Chaps shot 60% from the field and outscored the Thunderbirds 27-20 in the frame. The starters for the T-Birds scored all 21 points in the fourth quarter but shot 38.9% from the field in the process to ultimately lose to Midland by 10 points.
Sophomore Cacia Antonio was the leading scorer with 24 points and nine rebounds. Pania Davis padded the stat line registering 22 points, six rebounds, and three steals.
Freshman guard Jada Graves finished with nine points. Emma Najjuma was the only bench player to score for NMJC finishing with four points and six rebounds.
The T-Birds shot 28-for-68 (41.2%) from the field, 2-of-20 (10%) from beyond the arc, and 20-of-25 (80%) from the free throw line.
NMJC stays in first place in the WJCAC standings (10-2) and is ahead of South Plains (9-2) by one game.
The No. 1 Thunderbirds drop to 25-2 (10-2) and play Frank Phillips College 3-21 (1-9) in Borger, Texas Monday, Feb. 24 at 5:45 p.m. CST.
