CHEYENNE, WY – The Laramie County Community College women's basketball team saw a fourth quarter rally fall just short on Friday night at Storey Gym, falling to Western Wyoming Community College 65-62 after trailing by as much as 10 in the second half.

It was a slow start for both offenses, taking seven possessions before the Golden Eagles opened the scoring with a Marcela Pinedo-Saavedra layup. Both sides traded baskets until LCCC went on a 11-3 run to break it open 15-8 with two minutes left in the opening frame, again paced by a defense which forced six steals in the first quarter alone.

The Golden Eagles took a three-point lead into the second quarter, but Western Wyoming fought back to take their biggest lead of the game with just over three minutes remaining when they went up 26-22, and again at 28-24 after turnovers by the Golden Eagles began to result in the defense finding themselves out of position.

At the half, WWCC remained in front by that same 28-24 score.

Both offenses came out scorching hot in the third quarter, but every run by LCCC had an answer from the Mustangs and more than that, WWCC was able to slowly build their advantage, growing it to 41-35 by the media timeout and reaching a game high advantage of 10 with 3:10 remaining after a 9-3 run made it 48-38.

LCCC was able to finish the quarter with a defensive stand that held Western Wyoming to only two points down the stretch but still trailed 50-42 entering the final quarter.

The Golden Eagles didn't wait long to make their push back, with Kelly Megown, who scored all nine of her points on the night in the third quarter, helping to lead a charge to rally the cause back to 62-61 going into the final minutes, but the furious comeback would fall short as both defenses stood strong, limiting the two teams to just four combined points in the last two minutes of game play, and the victory went to Western Wyoming 65-62.

The Golden Eagles were led by a double-double from Blanche Toualeu, who scored 16 points to go with 10 rebounds, and was joined by Lylah Spring in double figures with 15 points to go with seven rebounds.

Marcela Pinedo-Saavedra and Megown both finished with nine and Tamara Smith-White added eight more.

The team only shot 3 of 18 from three-point range, compared to a 7-14 night from the Mustangs which countered a strong night defensively otherwise where LCCC forced WWCC into 27 turnovers on 12 steals. The Golden Eagles also had a strong night from the free throw line, going 13-16.

It's a quick turnaround for the women with Casper College on the way into town for the final home game of the season on Saturday afternoon. The opening tip of the game is scheduled for 2:00 pm as it brings the inaugural Oil and Rail Series to the table to ignite the rivalry between the Thunderbirds and the Golden Eagles.

It is also sophomore day, and the sophomore recognition will be held between the women's and men's games. More information and tickets can be found at www.golccc.com.