The Cloud County Community College (CCCC) women’s basketball team took on the Fort Hays Tech Northwest Tigers and the Garden City Community College (GCCC) Broncbusters on Wednesday, Jan. 7, and Saturday, Jan. 10.
The Lady T-Birds competed against the Tigers on Jan. 7, where they took the win 80-73. The T-Birds jumped to be first on the scoreboard, with Shea Wurts scoring three with a fouled layup and a good free throw. Competition would slow for the Thunderbirds throughout the quarter, with the Tigers jumping to a double-digit lead in the last 3 minutes of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the T-Birds began closing the gap with a few points scored by Wurtz, but a gritty back-and-forth quarter continued with the T-Birds continuing to trail the Tigers until halftime.
The Tigers would end the first half with a three-point basket with only 1 second remaining. Going into the third quarter and second half of the contest, the score sat at 39-31 Tigers.
The Thunderbirds team found its rhythm in the third quarter, where, after only 3 minutes, a layup from Camiah Muldrow tied the game at 42-42. A three-point basket by Marilyn Soeken pulled the T-Birds ahead, and more competitive play continued as the Tigers and T-Birds remained neck-and-neck throughout the rest of the third.
A Tigers layup sealed the score at 58-56 Tigers at the end of the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Thunderbirds and Tigers defenses held the score until Amanda Makela scored a three-point basket to bring the T-Birds ahead by one point. Another gritty defensive battle ensued, with each team overcoming the other until the T-Birds pulled away with about 3 minutes left in the game.
The Thunderbirds held their lead for the rest of the game, winning against the Tigers 80-73.
Muldrow led the team in scoring at 32 points, with Makela in second at 12 points. Wurtz held the most rebounds of the team at 14 for the game.
After this close game, the Lady T-Birds faced off against the GCCC Lady Broncbusters on Jan. 10 and lost 61-59 during the competitive contest.
Wurtz scored the first point of the contest with a free throw, and the T-Birds would continue leading the contest until the Broncbusters team started its engine to pull ahead of the T-Birds with a three-point basket early in the quarter.
The first quarter would end at a low score, with the Broncbusters leading the T-Birds 11-6.
Tough competition would continue into the second quarter, where the Broncbusters gained their largest lead at 12-8 early in the quarter. The T-Birds pulled ahead twice, with a Leila Washington three-point basket at 7 minutes and another three-pointer by Makela at about 6 minutes.
The Lady Broncbusters would hold their lead at 24-23 to end the second quarter.
After halftime, the Lady T-Birds caught up to the Broncbusters at 8:34 with a three-point basket from Washington but wouldn’t surpass the opponent’s score throughout the third quarter.
The competition remained neck-and-neck, though, as the Lady Broncbusters held their largest lead at only six points ahead. At the end of the quarter, the Broncbusters held a two-point lead at 40-38.
The fourth quarter began quietly, where both teams battled it out between their defenses. With about 3 minutes left in the contest, the Lady T-Birds found a second wind where they pulled ahead of the Broncbusters at 53-50 during their largest lead.
It wouldn’t be enough, though, as the Broncbusters cinched the win in the last 10 seconds of the game with a layup and a free throw. The final score was 61-59 Broncbusters.
Muldrow led the team in scoring points at 20, while Washington came in second at 11 points but garnered the most rebounds at nine.
