The Southwestern Community College Spartans, in a Tuesday night doubleheader at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton, downed the North Central Missouri College basketball teams in action broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7.
In the opener, the Lady Pirates started well, leading 15-14 after the first quarter, and 35-31 at the half. However, a recent trend of being unable to create separation on the scoreboard hurt North Central late, with the Lady Pirates giving up 50 second half points, and, in a poor fourth quarter, outscored 25-11, as SWICC picked up the 81-70 win.
The loss drops the North Central women to 2-4 on the season, with Maddie Book leading the Lady Pirates with 16 points. Hailey Burrows added 13, Dymeria Guillory 11, and Crystal Eureste 10 points. Southwestern, in improving to 3-2, had 16 points from Madelyn Moya, 14 from Kayela Willis, 12 points each from Vanessa Romo and Tina Lair-Van Meter, and 10 points apiece from the duo of C’Anne Hunter and Jasmine Aviles.
Over the weekend, the North Central women split a pair of games on the campus of Kansas City Kansas Community College, falling to the Blue Devils on Saturday night by a final of 109-69. Burrows had 20 points, Guillory 13, and Da’Briauna Bables 11 for North Central. Nija Collier came off the bench with a huge impact for KCK, scoring 31 points. On Friday afternoon, NCMC picked up a 65-60 win over the Hesston College Larks. Burrows had the best scoring game of her Lady Pirate career with 27 points, with Karissa Baber and Guillory both tallying 11.
The next game for Jenni Croy’s team will be at 5 o’clock this Friday night, with the Lady Pirates hosting the Central Methodist JV.
Much like the Pirate women, Jeremy Esry’s men’s team, while showing great promise in the hope of late-season success, finding their way through a mine-field of tough games in November. On Tuesday night, playing the unbeaten, #6 ranked (NJCAA D-2) Southwestern Spartans, the Pirates came up short in a defensive struggle, 75-66, dropping to 3-3 on the season. SWICC (4-0) was paced by sophomore Gatdoar Kueth with 21 points. Point guard Brandon Reed had 17 and small forward Chad Moran 14.
NCMC was paced by 15 points from Soloman Thomas with Marty Jackson adding 11. Ten Pirates scored in the loss, eight of those totals, led by nine points from Quinan Rieves, in single digits.
The Pirates were coming off perhaps their best performance of the season, as on Saturday night, the NCMC men hammered KCK on the Blue Devils home floor, 78-52. Jake Salisbury and Marty Jackson led the Pirates with 15 points each, while Thomas added 14. On Friday afternoon, North Central lost a 35-31 halftime lead, losing to Labette Community College, in Kansas City, Kansas, by a score of 78-71. LCC had 27 points from started guard Keondre Kennedy, while Ghage Kenan added 15 points. For the Pirates, Thomas scorched the nets for 34 points, with Salisbury adding 10 and Cameron Lockett nine points.
The Pirate men, at 7 o’clock on Friday night, will host the Ottawa University junior varsity at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton.
