Jan. 28, 2008

Final Stats

By Anthony Arroyo Journal-Advocate sports reporter

STERLING -- Western Nebraska came in with a 17-4 overall record, and a winning streak of 13 games into the Bank of Colorado Event Center Wednesday night.

Although the numbers were impressive, the Plainswomen of Northeastern Junior College couldn't care less.

NJC had one of its better performances of the season, finishing the game with 10 players that scored for the team, on their way to a comfortable 79-61 conference victory.

The Plainswomen improve to 18-4 overall, and are 11-0 on their home floor, including a 7-0 mark in tournament play at Jackson/Edwards Arena.

"We were really focused and played solid defense," Northeastern women's head coach Darrel Parker said of his team's success. "We came out hungry and in these types of games, they should be."

Northeastern began the game with a three-pointer and a lay-up by sophomore Jennifer Garner to start the game with a 5-0 lead. The Lady Cougars of Western Nebraska battled back to tie the game at eight, and once again at 12 before NJC started to cruise along.

Freshman Kristy Henderson connected on a traditional three-point play to put her team up three, and what also began a 8-2 run, capped on a three by sophomore Sarah Conner.

Western Nebraska would cut the lead to 20-18 near the eight minute mark of the first half, but another run by the Plainswomen would put their opponent away for good.

NJC opened up a double-digit lead at 33-23, thanks to two free throws by freshman Jacqie Neill.

The home team would lead 42-29 at half.

"I like how we came out and dictated the tempo and not just letting it come to us," Parker said. "We hustled, got our hands on a lot of loose balls and used our strengths to our advantage."

The first half wasn't pretty, as it featured 25 total fouls between both teams, and 16 missed free throws. Head coach of WNCC, David Harnish, also received a technical foul late in the half.

Second half action began the same for the Plainswomen, opening up an even bigger lead early in the half. Conner would give her team a 26-point lead with nine minutes remaining. The Lady Cougars finished the game on a 22-14 run in the final 7:49, but none of that mattered when sophomore Kristen Forbes through up a half-court shot to beat the shot clock, leaving just 5.6 second to play on the game clock.

The half-court shot capped off a great second half for Forbes, who would finish with 23 points despite shooting just 3-10 from the charity stripe. Neill ended her night with 12 points, followed by Garner with 11.

Henderson added eight points and five rebounds, while Conner had 10 assists to go along with seven points and five rebounds.

The freshman, as a whole, contributed 38 points, 28 rebounds, nine assists and five steals in the win.

"Some of our freshman are growing up, and understanding how to play at this level," Parker said. "They came in and filled their spots well.

"The deeper we are, the better we'll be," Parker added. "Hopefully we'll continue to improve in that department and keep rolling."

The win over the Lady Cougars is the fifth in a row overall for the Plainswomen and the eighth in the last 10 tries. The team will travel to Lamar on Saturday, Jan. 26 for another conference game. NJC returns home Tuesday, Jan. 29 against McCook Community College.

Northeastern defeated Lamar 120-49 in tournament play back on Nov. 10, a game that saw seven players finish in double-digits in scoring.