Jan. 16, 2008

Final Stats

By Anthony Arroyo Journal-Advocate sports reporter

STERLING -- The Northeastern Junior College Plainswomen forced Eastern Wyoming to 32 turnovers and shot 47 percent from the field as the team had a cake walk, scoring an 81-28 victory Tuesday night. Northeastern is now 15-3 on the year and improved their home record at the Bank of Colorado Event Center to 8-0. Even with the lopsided win, head coach Darrel Parker still wasn't as pleased as he could have been.

"I felt like we didn't shoot as well as we could have," Parker said, explaining how he felt of the contest. "It seemed like in the first half, we were just going through the motions but the girls responded well in the second half."

NJC scored 47 of their 81 total points in the second half, while keeping their opponent to only 13. The first half saw some struggles early on, turning the ball over and missing lay-ups. In prospective, NJC had 15 turnovers on the day, and only three came in the second half.

Eastern Wyoming stayed with the Plainswomen until the score reached 11-10, advantage NJC. From there, Northeastern went on a 19-2 run, beginning with a basket by freshman Jessica Priest and concluding with a three-point play by sophomore Sarah Conner. After it was all set and done, the Plainswomen outscored Eastern Wyoming 21-5 in the last 10:32, taking a 34-15 lead.

The second half proved to be the same story. A three-pointer by Conner put her team up 45-18 with 13:42 remaining in the game. Eastern Wyoming would connect on their following possession, but NJC would go on another run, this time a 22-3 run before their opponent called a time out with 4:56. Second and third team players came in the game and continued to apply the pressure, finishing the last four minutes on a 13-2 run to cap off the huge victory for Northeastern.

The win is the fourth in the last five games. "We're playing well right now, especially after our tough trip to Wyoming last weekend," Parker said. "We need to continue to play to our tempo and to our strengths as we continue to progress."

NJC had 11 players on the roster score at least four points in the win. Conner finished with 12 points, followed by sophomore Jennifer Garner with 11 and freshman Stacy Howard with 10. Sophomore Kristen Forbes added nine points in the balance scoring for the Plainswomen, while freshman Silke Forstmann finished the contest with eight points and 12 rebounds.

As a team, Northeastern recorded 21 steals and out-rebounded by 25. The Plainswomen will host the Roy Edwards Tournament this weekend when Northeastern Wyoming comes into town Friday night and Ft. Carson Military on Saturday. Friday night's game begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Bank of Colorado Event Center.