T-Birds rally in second half to defeat Knights, 75-67

It has been a busy week for the Cloud County Community College women's basketball team, and for more than two quarters Wednesday night it showed.
Cloud County, playing a fourth game in six days, trailed a North Platte Community College team it had beaten 86-48 on the road to open the season 38-29 with just over 1:30 gone by in the second half.
The Thunderbirds, thanks in large part to sophomore forward Scout Frame, were able to find the energy to battle back and defeat the Knights 75-67 in Bryant Gymnasium.
Frame scored 22 of her game high 33 points in the second half. She finished 13 of 23 from the field and 7 of 11 from the free throw line and also grabbed 12 rebounds.
“We had to get some fire going in the third quarter. We played a little better defense, got a little better movement, hit some shots and were able to get a little lead there,” Cloud County coach Brett Erkenbrack said, “We were playing at the right pace. We ran some set plays to try to get Scout the ball in the right place at the right time, and she finished some plays well. Scout's 33 points were big and we needed all of them.”
Nerea Castellano-Jarandilla, who went 5 of 11 from three point range in scoring 17 points, connected on consecutive triples in the first 1:32 of the second half to turn a 32-29 North Platte lead into a 38-29 advantage.
Cloud County would shut Castellano-Jarandilla out the rest of the way.
“We did a better job of recognizing where she was and getting out on her in the second half,” Erkenbrack said, “Our communication was a little better, and I think Chase (Siedliks) and Mikaela (Meyers) lifted us defensively as much as anything. Chase hit some threes of her own, but her defensive intensity and effort really helped us on the perimeter. And Mikaela, her defense, really helped us and her length was a factor.”
Siedlik, who scored 11 points, hit one of her two threes during an 8-0 spurt that pulled the T-Birds within a point, 38-37.
Cloud County trailed 40-37 when Frame took charge on the offensive end.
Frame scored 13 points as the T-Birds outscored the Knights 22-11 over a span of 5:16 to take a 59-51 lead.
Madisyn Francis made one of two free throws with eight seconds remaining in the quarter, and North Platte trailed 59-52.
Chiara De Virgilio connected on a three 51 seconds into the final period to give Cloud County a 62-52 cushion.
North Platte used an 8-3 run to close the gap to 65-60 when Francis hit from 10 feet with 7:00 to play.
Another three by De Virgilio, a basket by Siedlik and a free throw by Frame put the T-Birds up 71-60.
The Knights got no closer than seven points over the final 3:52.
“I'm glad we had to play for 40 minutes and we had to make some plays down the stretch,” Erkenbrack said, “That was probably the highlight of the night for me. In the third quarter and part of the fourth quarter we were able to execute in the half-court offensively when we had to have some buckets and had to have some things go right for us.”
De Virgilio scored 13 points and handed out six assists for Cloud County.
Cassidy Haufler scored six points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The T-Birds connected on 27 of 71 field goal attempts for 38 percent and 15 of 21 free throws for 71 percent.
Nahatabaa Nacona matched Castellano-Jarandilla with 17 points for North Platte.
Francis scored 13 points. Emily Joseph and Dehje Belmore scored 10 points each.
The Knights were 27 of 73 from the floor for 37 percent and 4 of 10 from the line. They made 9 of 32 three-point attempts for 28 percent.
Neither team led by more than three points in the first quarter, and Cloud County was up 14-12 heading into the second period.
The T-Birds led 20-17 when North Platte got a basket by Belmore, a three by Castellano-Jarandilla and a follow by Joseph to grab a 24-20 lead.
Two free throws by Frame and a three by De Virgilio gave Cloud County the lead back at 25-24.
With the game tied at 27-27, Belmore scored off an offensive rebound and Castellano-Jarandilla buried a three to give the Knights its biggest lead of the first half, 32-27.
Lydia Ostenso scored on a drive, and Cloud County trailed 32-29 at halftime.
Two quick threes by Castelano-Jarandillo pushed North Platte's lead to 38-29 in the second half.
The T-Birds were able to right ship and rally for the win.
Cloud Count is on the road to take on Northeast (Neb.) Community College at 2 p.m. Saturday.