Lady Indian offense struggles in 60-47 loss to Casper

CASPER, Wyo. – The McCook Community College women were unable to overcome a slow start offensively Friday and lost 60-47 to Casper College in the Region IX Crossover Classic.

The Lady Indians scored just two first-quarter points, trailed 38-19 at the half and shot just 28.2 percent for the game.

“We are a team that is struggling to find our identity,” said MCC Coach Brandon Pritchett. “And a lot of that is due to a lack of execution on the offensive end.”

From the second quarter on, MCC outscored Casper 45-44 and held a 28-22 edge in the second half.

After the 20.7 first half shooting performance, the Lady Indians shot 39.1 percent in the second half and finished the game at 28.2 percent. MCC made just three of 21 shots from the 3-point line (14.3 percent) and 58.3 percent from the free-throw line on 24 foul shots.

Casper shot 35.6 for the game, made five of 17 3-pointers (29.4 percent) and went 13-for-21 from the free-throw line (61.9 percent). The T-Birds outrebounded MCC 41-31 with a 22-8 advantage in bench scoring.

“We need more production out of everyone,” said Pritchett.

Sophomore Madara Liepniece (Riga, Latvia) was the only MCC player in double-figures scoring 14 points.

Irene Fernandez Pavesio (sophomore, Asturias, Spain) scored nine points while Carolina Garcia Perdomo (freshman Islas Canarias, Spain) and freshman Laia Izquierdo Altimira (Barcelona, Spain) both scored eight.

Casper improves to 12-5 on the season.

“We knew this weekend would be tough but that was by design – we wanted to face the best teams from the north,” said Pritchett. “We have one more game tomorrow and have to get back to playing as a team and prove we can compete at a high level.”

The Lady Indians (9-7) conclude the Crossover Classic Saturday at 3 p.m. against Gillette College (11-5).

Up-to-date information about MCC basketball including livestream links, schedule, statistics, rosters, photos and more can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com