The North Central Missouri College Lady Pirates have locked up the #1 seed for the postseason tournament in Jefferson City, locking up a spot in the Region XVI championship game on Friday, February 25th, with a 106-51 demolition of St. Louis Community College on Saturday afternoon, with coverage from the Ketcham Community Center broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7.
North Central’s offensive firepower and overall depth was on full display, with seven Lady Pirates in double-figures, paced by 18 points from Nora Ford and 16 from Jasmine Taylor. Angel Wiggins added 14, Kennadie Crowe 13, Maci Moore and Toya Bethel 12 points each, and Jordyn Gray 10 for the now 20-4 (4-0) Lady Pirates.
St. Louis, falling to a mark of 3-10, was led by D’Khia Green with 18 points, with Jayla McLemore scoring 12, and McKayla Williams 10.
The victory by the Lady Pirates was a historic triumph for head coach Jenni Croy, her 250th as women’s basketball coach at North Central Missouri College, a position she has held since the 2007-2008 season.
The night-cap of the doubleheader in Trenton was much tighter, with North Central trailing visiting St. Louis by five points at the half, but rallying in the second half for a 69-64 triumph, pushing the Pirates to 14-10 on the season, and earning an important Region XVI win for coach Jeremy Esry, with the Pirates now 2-1, still in the hunt for the potential #1 seed and first-round bye.
Isaiah Ervin and Kam Bevel led five Pirates in double figures, each scoring 13 points, with Gerald Gittens tallying 12, and Kolten Griffin and Mack Anderson 10 each for NCMC.
St. Louis had a game-high 24 points from Doreante Tucker, with 11 each from James Ross and Anias Futrell. The Archers, in a game postponed from January due to COVID-19 issues, will host NCMC on Monday, February 21st at 3 o’clock.
Next up for the NCMC teams will be a home game for the Lady Pirates against the Missouri Valley JV on Tuesday, February 15th at 5:30 (coverage on Hot Country Z 101.7). The Pirate men will travel to Ottumwa, Iowa on Wednesday night to play D-1 opponent Indian Hills in a 7 o’clock tip.
