T-Bird women's winning streak ends in loss at Dodge City

DODGE CITY - Despite finishing the game with a 25-16 fourth-quarter effort and four starters in double-figures, the Cloud County Community College women's basketball team would see a 20-point third-quarter deficit be too large to overcome against host Dodge City Community College in the opening round of the NJCAA Region VI Women's Basketball Tournament inside the Student Activities Center in Dodge City on Saturday.

The loss ends the season for Cloud County with a 15-16 overall record after having won their previous four games as each of the final two losses for CCCC comes at the hands of Dodge City. The Conquistadors picked up their 19th win of the year to improve to 19-12 overall and advance to Tuesday's NJCAA Region VI Tournament quarterfinal round where they will take on Hutchinson in Hutchinson at 5:30 p.m.

Trading the first four points of the contest, Cloud County would see their first five points of the game come from the free-throw line as the first 4:33 of the contest would see the T-Birds held without a made field goal which would allow host DCCC to jump out to a 10-5 lead. The first made field goal for CCCC would come courtesy of freshman Paula Puzule on a made three to cut the deficit to two at 10-8 as the T-Birds would tie the game on their next possession with a Te Araroa Sopoaga layup before giving up back-to-back buckets to Dodge City to trail once again by two possessions. Another free throw from Rori Cox would get Cloud County back within three as a 5-0 run would give CCCC their first lead of the game at 15-14 before a made layup in the final 38 seconds of the first quarter would put the Conquistadors back on top by a score of 16-15.

Neither team would have offensive success in the opening two-plus minutes of the second quarter as a Kay Hauata-Phillips offensive rebound and layup with 7:56 left in the first half would allow Cloud County to retake the lead to go along with two more free throws from Cox that would give the T-Birds their largest lead of the game at 19-16. Back-to-back made treys from Dodge City would put the Conquistadors back out in front as the next three made field goals in the game would come from Dodge City beyond the arc to turn a three-point deficit into an eight-point lead as CCCC would get just a single free-throw from Phillips during the 9-1 Conquistador run. Trailing 28-20 after the third made triple, Cloud County would get a layup from Phillips to briefly get back within six before a pair of split free-throw trips for DCCC would make it a 30-22 contest at the break.

Three-point shooting would be on point for both squads to start the second half as Puzule would connect on two threes to go along with a Sopoaga layup to offset four points being scored by the Conquistadors which would allow CCCC to cut the deficit down to four at 34-30. Following a Dodge City free throw, Cloud County would get a layup from Sopoaga to get within a single possession at 35-32 before seeing Dodge City go on a 19-2 run that would blow things open to a 54-34 lead with 43 seconds left in the third quarter. A bucket from Phillips to go along with a Shakira Smith free throw would end the scoring in the quarter as CCCC would face a 17-point deficit heading into the fourth.

Needing to cut into the lead quickly to have any chance at mounting a comeback, Cloud County would open the quarter by going on a 12-2 run while holding the Conquistadors without a made field goal for the first 3:16 of the quarter which would allow the deficit to be cut down to seven at 56-49. Two-straight field goals from DCCC would make it a double-digit lead for Dodge City with just over six minutes remaining as the T-Birds would begin to see the offense sputter which allowed the Conquistadors to hold a double-digit lead for the next three minutes of game action.

A Puzule three with 3:39 remaining would get Cloud County back within single digits once more before giving up free throws on back-to-back Dodge City possessions that would make it a 66-55 contest as time would begin to become the biggest issue for CCCC. Despite coming up with defensive stops, the T-Birds would be unable to convert on the offensive end of the court in crunch time as CCCC would only outscore DCCC 7-4 in the final 1:46 of the contest and get no closer than eight after the run to open the quarter.

Struggling offensively, Cloud County would shoot just 30.9 percent (21-of-68) from the floor and hit on just four-of-20 (20.0 percent) of their attempts from three while Dodge City would manage to shoot 45.3 percent (24-of-53) from the field and nine-of-27 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc. Both teams would take advantage of turnovers as the Conquistadors would hold a 17-15 advantage in points off turnovers to help offset a 14-5 advantage for CCCC in second-chance points despite being outrebounded 39-34.

Leading CCCC in scoring would be Cox with 13 points and seven rebounds along with five steals while Sopoaga and Puzule would both finish with 12 points and five rebounds. Also finishing with 12 points to go along with seven rebounds would be Phillips as Becker would finish two points shy of a double-digits to end her T-Bird career with an eight-point performance in 16 minutes of action. A game-high 27 points from Krystina Hagood would lead Dodge City as the Conquistadors would get 65 of their 70 total points from their starting five with four starters in double-figures.