MCC Women to host Lamar Friday in post-season

The McCook Community College will host Lamar Community College Friday at 6 p.m. to begin the Region IX post-season tournament.

The Lady Indians finished the regular season 16-14 and went 4-6 in the south region while Lamar went 6-21 overall and 2-8 in the south standings.

MCC finished fourth among the six teams in the Region IX South and Lamar fifth. The top two seeds – Northeastern Junior College (9-1) and Otero (8-2) – received first-round byes. No. 3 Western Nebraska (7-3) will host six-seeded Trinidad (0-10) Friday in the other Region IX south play-in games.

Friday’s winners move on to the remaining rounds and join the top four teams from the Region IX North division. Those remaining rounds will be played at Casper, Wyo. March 14-16.

 

BY THE NUMBERS: For the season, MCC averages 60.7 points per game, shoots 40.2 percent from the field, 34.3 from the 3-point line and 73.5 percent from the free-throw line. Made free-throws have become a trademark of the team under MCC Coach Brandon Pritchett. This year the Lady Indians are ninth best in percentages at the line. Last season the finished 10^th in the nation.

Defensively this season, the team gives up 60.4 points per game.

Lamar averages 54.3 points per game, shoots 32.7 percent from the field, 28.1 percent from the 3-point line and 66.2 percent from the charity stripe. They allow an average of 69.6 points per game.

 

THE MATCHUP: The two teams met twice this season with MCC winning the first matchup Jan. 20 in Colorado 52-49. The Lady Indians scored a 67-46 win in the Peter and Dolores Graff Events Center Feb. 6.

In the first matchup, MCC was down 22-15 at halftime and 35-31 after three quarters but came on to outscore the Runnin’ Lopes 21-14 in the final quarter. Sophomore Gemma Gruettner Bacoul (Berlin, Germany) led MCC with 16 points. Rebecca Dunn (sophomore, Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the way on the boards with nine rebounds. Both teams shot 36 percent from the field that game but MCC outscored Lamar at the free-throw line 14-4.

In the matchup in McCook last month, the Lady Indians never trailed as Gruettner Bacoul led the way offensively with 23 points and Dunn led the team with 11 rebounds.

The Lady Indians have won 15 straight games over the Running’ Lopes including four straight in the Region IX tournament.

MCC and Lamar last met in the 2021-22 season in the play-in round. That games was played in MCC with the Lady Indians winning 55-43. In the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season MCC beat Lamar 53-47 in the first-round at McCook. The Lady Indians also downed Lamar to start the post-season in 2019 and 2018.

The Runnin’ Lopes last win against MCC came on Dec. 10, 2017 in Lamar (78-63).

 

THE PLAYERS: Gruettner leads MCC and all players in Region IX in scoring, averaging 18.2 points per game, she is also third in rebounds averaging 6.6 per game in the South division. Her 3.4 assists per game is second best in the south.

Sophomore Audra Vine (Thornton, Colo.) is second in the south in 3-point shooting percentage making 38.9 percent of her attempts. Gruettner Bacoul is third in 3-point shooting at 38.3 percent. Vine averages 9.5 points per game.

Suzan Sisman (sophomore. Aarhus, Denmark), is ninth in Region IX South scoring at 10.0 points per game. Dunn finished 10^th in the south in rebounds at 5.5 per game. She averages 5.5 points per game.

Lamar’s top scorer is freshman Abbey Smith at 9.0 points per game. Yuna Soma averages 8.3 and Darling Harris is the south’s top rebounder taking down an average of 7.8 per game.

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

 

Final Women's Region IX South Standings
                               W-L    PCT   Overall
Northeastern        9-1    .900     27-3
Otero JC                8-2    .800    13-16
Western Neb.       7-3    .700     24-6
McCook                4-6    .400    16-14
Lamar CC             2-8    .200     6-21
Trinidad State   0-10    .000     0-27

FRIDAY’S GAMES

     Lamar CC at McCook, 6 p.m.

     Trinidad State at Western Nebraska, 6 p.m. (MT)

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Final Women's Region IX North Standings
                               W-L    PCT   Overall
Casper College   11-1    .917     25-5
Western Wyo.       9-3    .750    14-16
Eastern Wyo.        8-4    .667    14-15
Northwest             4-8    .333    15-14
Gillette                  4-8    .333     15-15

Lamamie Co.        4-8    .333    11-17
Cent. Wyoming  2-10    .167       9-21

FRIDAY’S GAMES

     Laramie County at Eastern Wyo., 5:30 p.m. (MT)

     Gillette at Northwest College at Gillette, 6 p.m. (MT)