The North Central Missouri College basketball teams traveled to Beatrice, Nebraska on Wednesday night, playing the host Southeast Community College Storm at the Truman Center.
The Lady Pirates, in the opener heard on Hot Country Z 101.7, played one of their most complete games of the season, with a dazzling display of passing and shooting putting 95 points on the scoreboard, in a 95-59 win that improves North Central to 13-3 on the season. Samm Jett led a balanced offensive attack with 17 points, with Whitley Richman scoring 14, Kendey Eaton 14, Sarah Lamp 12, and Hailey Burrows 10 points.
North Central’s women, up to #13 in the country in this week’s NJCAA Division Two poll, dropped Southeast to a record of 6-10. The Storm were led by 18 points from Marcia Hawkins and 10 from Sebit Gatluak.
The Lady Pirates will host #6 ranked St. Louis on Saturday afternoon at the Ketcham Community Center in the Region 16 regular season opener for Jenni Croy’s team. NCMC will be out for payback, losing the region title game to St. Louis last March in Jefferson City. The 2 o’clock game will be broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7, with pregame at 1:45. Both North Central and St. Louis have only three losses on the season.
The men’s game on Wednesday night started slowly for Jeremy Esry’s Pirate team, playing their first game in over a month. However, North Central rallied from an early double-digit deficit to trail by only two points at the half, then caught Southeast early in the second half, and held on for a 78-71 win, improving to 9-5 on the campaign.
Sophomore Jalen Gant had a spectacular night with 34 points and 16 rebounds for the Pirates, with Jordan Reece adding 14 and Cody Glenn 12 points. Southeast, a team that suffered eight forfeit “losses” in the fall semester due to use of an ineligible student-athlete, falls to 1-17 (9-8 without the forfeits). Daniel Quesenberry scored 14 and Darian McDonald 11 points for the home team.
The Pirate men host St. Louis Community College on 4 o’clock Saturday afternoon from the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton.
