Lady Indians fall to Central Wyoming 60-58

RIVERTON, Wyo. – The McCook Community College women dropped a 60-58 decision Friday to Central Wyoming College in the Rustler/Mustang Classic hosted by Central Wyoming College.

The Lady Indians got off to a quick start mounting an 11-point lead late in the first period. It turned out to be MCC’s largest lead of the game as they went on to a 20-12 first-quarter lead. The Rustlers gained momentum in the second quarter outscoring MCC 18-9 and leading at halftime, 30-29.

“Central Wyoming played really well and made some big 3s in the first half that really gave them confidence,” said MCC Coach Brandon Pritchett.

The Rustlers made six of 17 shots from 3-point range in the first half (35.3 percent) and finished the game with eight makes in 26 shots (30.8 percent).

CWC extended the lead to six points with 2:36 left in the third quarter but led to start the final quarter 45-42. MCC fought back in a game that saw five ties and five lead changes and outscored CWC 16-15 in the final 10 minutes.

“We lacked energy and our effort on the defensive end was not how we've been playing,” said Pritchett. “Offensively we were stale, and the ball stuck in our hands too long.”

MCC shot 33.3 percent from the field making eight of 26 3-pointers (30.8 percent). The Lady Indians went 12-for-19 from the line (63.2 percent), held a 33-30 rebound edge and had 12 turnovers.

Natalie Harmata (redshirt sophomore, Sydney, Australia) led MCC with 12 points. Sophomore transfer Irene Fernandez Pavesio (Miami-Dade, Asturias, Spain) and sophomore Madara Liepniece (Riga, Latvia) both scored 11 points.

Central Wyoming shot 42.6 percent from the field and made six of 11 free-throw shots (54.4 percent). The Rustlers improve to 4-13.

MCC goes to 9-4 on the season and will take on Western Wyoming (6-4) Saturday.

“We have to be better with our execution and being more assertive,” said Pritchett. “It's a quick turn-around for tomorrow against a very good Western Wyoming team that is tough on both end of the ball.”

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