Trailing Florida State College of Jacksonville for most of their Tuesday afternoon contest from Palm Beach, Florida, the North Central Missouri College leaned on their tough defense to remain close to the Manta Rays, hoping for an offensive surge late.
That combination finally hit in the fourth quarter, as North Central (8-3), trailing 42-37 after 30 minutes of action, outscoring FSCJ to the tune of 19-6 in the final 10 minutes, snaring a 56-48 victory.
The Lady Pirates shot only 35 percent from the field and 24 percent from behind the three-point arc, but found improved offense, with the post-presence of Tailer Morrison, heady floor game of Jessica Reeter, and the driving ability of Gladys Brown and Kayanna Cranmer playing key roles in the rally.
Brown led the Lady Pirates with 12 points, with Reeter and Morrison scoring 11 each. Cranmer, a freshman from Chillicothe, continued to show rapid pre-Holiday Break improvement, scoring 10 points off of the NCMC bench.
In the second game of their Florida swing this (Wednesday) afternoon at 2 o’clock, the Lady Pirates will take on Lake Lane College of Illinois from the campus of Palm Beach State College. The game can be viewed from this link provided by Palm Beach State College:
https://www.youtube.com/@palmbeachstatewbb
On Thursday afternoon at 4 o’clock, NCMC’s women will finish out the trip to suburban Miami with a game against the host school from Palm Beach State College.
