Cloud County Athletics
CONCORDIA - Withstanding two double-digit runs from visiting Garden City, the Cloud County Community College women's basketball team would turn in a 53-46 home victory over the Lady Broncbusters inside Arley Bryant Gymnasium on Wednesday.
Never trailing in the contest, Cloud County picks up a second straight win to improve to 13-15 overall and 9-13 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference while Garden City falls to 18-9 overall and 13-9 in the KJCCC after losing for just the second time in the month of February.
Efficient play on both ends of the court would allow Cloud County to jump out to a 7-0 lead in the opening 4:18 of the contest as three different players would score during the run. Capping things off would be a Paula Puzule triple with 7:17 left in the first quarter as Garden City would turn the ball over three times and miss their first four shots of the game before finally getting a bucket with 5:42 left in the quarter. Following a Britney Mapang three-point play to get GCCC on the board, CCCC would continue their spirited effort to start the game by getting a Kay Hauata Phillips put back and Te Araroa Sopoaga trey to make it a 12-3 lead. Cloud County would add to their lead to go up by as many as 13 in the opening stanza at 16-3, but an 8-0 run in the final 2:17 of the quarter would allow the Broncbusters to get back within six at 16-10.
The Garden City run would carry over into the start of the second quarter as three free-throws and a field goal would get GCCC within one but Puzule would have an answer by connecting on her second three of the contest. Cloud County's lead would never get above four from the 7:21 mark of the second quarter until the final minute of the first half despite never letting Garden City get any closer than two during that span. Leading by two at 23-21 with 90 seconds left in the quarter, Cloud County would manage to draw a foul that would allow Puzule to go to the free-throw line where she would split a pair to start a 6-0 spurt by the T-Birds to end the first half with a 29-21 lead.
A Shakira Smith layup in the opening minute of the third quarter would allow Cloud County to take their first double-digit lead since the first quarter of action as CCCC would be able to maintain a lead ranging from 10-12 points throughout the first five minutes of the second half. As things would continue on into the latter stages of the third quarter, Phillips would give the T-Birds their largest lead of the game at 41-26 before seeing GCCC close out the final 2:53 of the third by scoring eight of the final nine points to get back within eight at 42-34.
In similar fashion to the second quarter, Garden City would see their run continue from the third quarter into the fourth as six of the first eight points would be scored by the Lady Broncbusters to finish off a 14-3 run to make it a 42-38 game with 8:48 remaining. A Rori Cox layup would be answered by an Ashton McCorry jump shot to keep things at a four-point margin with just over six minutes remaining as GCCC would eventually get within two just past the halfway point of the final quarter. Needing a run to try and put the game out of reach, Cloud County would turn to their leading scorer throughout the season in Sopoaga who would get a driving layup to make it a two-possession game at 48-44 before forcing an empty possession on the defensive end. A missed layup from Phillips would be lead to a massive offensive rebound from the sophomore that would lead to a Shakira Smith jumper with 2:56 left in the game that would give the T-Birds a 50-44 lead. Garden City would get a second-chance opportunity of their own on the next possession to put things back at a four-point contest, but the T-Birds would manage to bleed 30 seconds of clock before getting a defensive stop that would force the Lady Broncbusters to foul with just 58 seconds left. The foul would not put Cloud County in the bonus but would allow CCCC to retain possession of the ball as Sopoaga would hit another game-changing layup to make it a six-point game once more. GCCC would wind up turning the ball over in a must-score possession as the T-Birds would add a Puzule free throw with five seconds remaining to earn a season sweep of Garden City.
The biggest difference in the game would be a 12-0 difference in points from beyond the arc in favor of Cloud County as Garden City would attempt just two three-point field goals for the entire contest. The Lady Broncbusters would attempt to make up the difference at the charity stripe, going 18-for-23 (78.3 percent) compared to a nine-of-13 (69.2 percent) performance from CCCC who would hold a 44-36 advantage in rebounds which included 16 offensive rebounds compared to 10 for GCCC.
A balanced offensive effort for the T-Birds would see no Cloud County player score more than 13 as Cox would lead the team with 13 points and nine rebounds. Sopoaga would record her eighth double-double of the year with 11 points and 12 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Phillips would provide four blocks on the defensive end in addition to nine points and nine rebounds as CCCC would record nine blocks in the game. McCorry would lead Garden City in scoring with 20 points to finish as the only player in double-figures for the Lady Broncbusters.
What's next?
CCCC will make its final regular-season road trip of the year to Arkansas City, Kansas to take on Cowley Community College for the second time in a three-week span. The first game of the year, which took place on Jan. 31 after a postponement from Jan. 12, saw the Tigers defeat the T-Birds by a score of 76-48. Cowley has won four of their past five games, and is 11-3 in home games this season.