Feb. 11, 2008

Final Stats

By Anthony Arroyo Journal-Advocate sports reporter

STERLING -- Northeastern Junior College and Casper College always guarantee a tough match, and neither team disappointed Friday night.

A late surge by the Plainswomen was cut just short, with the team suffering a 55-54 setback against the Lady T-Birds, earning a season split with the conference foe.

"We picked up the intensity in the second half, but we just could never get in any offensive rhythm all night," NJC women's head coach Darrel Parker said. "They made enough plays to win, and that was the bottom line."

The Plainswomen knew what type of battle they would be in, playing the Casper Lady T-Birds tough in a 44-41 victory last month in Wyoming. Freshman Stacy Howard was on fire in the first half, scoring 13 points, which was half of her team's point total before half-time.

Howard would tie the game at two early on, while sophomore Sarah Conner locked the game at seven, which were the only two ties of the half.

After another three by Conner gave NJC its first lead of the game, 10-9, Casper would go on a 9-0 run before Howard connected on a basket, making the new deficit at 18-12.

Two free throws by sophomore Kristen Forbes cut the score to 18-14 and a field goal by Howard cut the deficit to three points later in the game, but NJC wouldn't get any closer than that in the first half.

Northeastern would trail by eight points before setting for a 31-26 score at halftime.

"We weren't very hungry on the boards, and it hurt us," Parker said. "When shots aren't falling, we need to get those second and third chance points and we just didn't get any."

The Plainswomen played with a purpose to open the second half. After Casper connected off the opening play, NJC got baskets from freshman Britney Creamer, followed by a hoop inside off an offensive rebound by Conner, cutting the lead to four.

Conner would dish a sweet half-court bounce pass to freshman Jacqie Neill for two points, and NJC was within two, 34-32.

Sophomore Taija Bennett would provide a spark off the bench, connecting on a free throw and hitting on an open three-pointer to bring the deficit to 41-40.

The score would stay that way for nearly five minutes, as both teams hit a scoring drought. Casper finally ended the span with a free throw.

Right back down the court, Conner connected on a deep two-pointer to tie the game, however, Casper hit on a three-pointer to make the score 45-42.

Bennett would hit inside to cut the disadvantage to one, but the Lady T-Birds would run off the next five points to give them the extra cushion they needed.

NJC would miss some key free throws down the stretch, but it wasn't the final determination of the game.

A questionable lane violation call that would have

tied the game,

left NJC down by one point with less than seven seconds to play. A game winning desperation shot by Conner missed long, ending the game with the one-point loss.

"It's all part of the game," Parker said of the final stretch of the game. "They executed the big plays when they needed to and shutdown our offense with their zone."

Howard finished the contest with 17 points and eight rebounds in the defeat. Conner also added 17 points to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. Bennett had seven off the bench.

Next up, Northeastern travels to Fort Carson Tuesday, Feb. 12.