Cloud County Athletics
DODGE CITY - Outscored 42-15 from beyond the arc, the Cloud County Community College women's basketball team would see a 27-17 after 10 minutes of action create an early deficit that they would never recover from in an 84-69 road loss at No. 16 nationally ranked Dodge City Community College inside the Student Activities Center in Dodge City on Monday.
A fourth-straight loss for CCCC drops the T-Birds to 9-5 overall and 4-4 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference while the Conquistadors will take a one-game lead in the KJCCC standings into the holiday break by improving to 12-2 overall and 7-1 in conference play.
The three-point shooting from Dodge City would be evident from the start as the Conquistadors would open the game with a made three just 11 seconds into the game while hitting three in the opening 3:36 of action to go up 13-7 on Cloud County who would look to attack the paint for their scoring needs. CCCC would then cut the DC3 lead in half over their next two offensive possessions before seeing the Conquistadors get back-to-back buckets to extend their lead back out to seven and eventually 10 on yet another made triple. The Dodge City lead would grow to as many as 12 in the opening quarter of action before the T-Birds would manage to score four of the final six points of the period to trail 27-17 heading to the second.
Following an opening quarter that saw 44 total points scored between teams, it would take over three minutes of game time to see the first points of the second quarter get put on the scoreboard as neither team would be able to match their early offensive production. Freshman Sarah Lawless would get Cloud County back within seven on a made trey as CCCC would give up a Conquistador free throw and get a Jessi Brummet jumper to get the deficit down to six at 28-22.
Getting a made three from sophomore Lilly Smith with just over four minutes left before halftime would allow CCCC to get within five, but back-to-back made triples on the other end of the floor would see Dodge City quickly push their lead back out to 11 and start to grab momentum heading down the stretch of the first half. The change in momentum would allow DCCC to outscore Cloud County 16-4 over the final three-plus minutes of the second quarter and see the Conquistadors hold a 46-29 lead at the break.
The Dodge City lead would reach the 20-point mark just two minutes into the third quarter as Cloud County would not have an answer for the Conquistador trio of Jenna Rose Mafua, Leah Mafua, and Jada Burton who would score each of DCCC's first 15 points of the second half. Seeing the deficit approach the 30-point mark mid-way through the third quarter, Cloud County would start to find some scoring late in the quarter by scoring 11 of their 17 third-quarter points in the final 3:18 of the quarter.
With any realistic hope of trying to mount a comeback hinging on a strong start to the fourth quarter, CCCC would score seven of the first 11 points in the final period but see Dodge City continue to add to their total to offset the scoring output by the T-Birds. Time would then become a factor as CCCC would see the deficit remain where it began at the start of the fourth as Cloud County would manage to score 13 of the final 16 points down the stretch to see the final margin of defeat settle at 15.
Exactly half of Dodge City's 28 field goals and half of their 84-point total would come from beyond the arc as DCCC would shoot 38.9 percent (14-of-36) from three as Cloud County would be held to a 23-for-69 (33.3 percent) performance from the floor and connect on just five-of-26 (19.2 percent) of their three-point attempts despite going 18-for-25 (72.0 percent) from the charity stripe. The T-Birds would also see Dodge City hold a 42-35 advantage in rebounds and outscore CCCC 15-13 in points off turnovers.
Just six players would score for Cloud County in the game with four players reaching double-figures including a team-high 17 from Te Araroa Sopoaga who would finish one rebound short of a double-double. Sophomore Alize Ruiz would also finish one rebound shy of a double-double after scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds while Smith (15) and Brummett) would also reach double figures. Dodge City would have three of their five starters score at least 11 points in the game and be led by a game-high 18 from Jenna Rose Mafua.
What's next?
Cloud County will have three weeks to regroup and recover from recently sustained injuries as the T-Birds will not be in action again until Jan. 4 with a trip to Coffeyville. The Red Ravens were off on Monday night and entered the extended holiday break with a 10-4 overall record and a 6-2 mark in the KJCCC.