CHEYENNE, WY – The Laramie County Community College women's basketball team pushed the Eastern Wyoming College Lancers to the brink on Friday night in Torrington but dropped their postseason opener 72-66 to end their season in the opening round for the first time under Head Coach Ayana McWilliams.
"It sucks to go out that way but at the end of the day I thought the ladies fought really hard," McWilliams said of her team's effort through the night. "It was a really tough match and they left it all on the floor."
The game opened with LCCC answering a 4-0 start from Eastern Wyoming with an 11-2 run of their own paced by Lylah Spring and Blanche Toualeu, and helped by some strong passing from Tyra Lovelock, who finished the opening quarter with three assists.
"It's always good when you can come out and find some offensive flow and allow the ball to touch a couple of people's hands," McWilliams said.
The two sides traded points through the rest of a high scoring opening quarter that saw LCCC take a 22-19 lead into the second ten minutes.
The Lancers hit an early three to tie the game at 22 and they again tied it at 24. The Golden Eagles picked the lead back up to four, but an 8-0 run from EWC gave them the lead with just over three minutes to play in the opening half, going up as many as four, 32-28.
The two sides would close the half out with strong defense, which was a staple of the final three quarters, and only combined for five points on the way to a 34-31 lead at the break.
Spring and Toualeu took over in the third quarter for LCCC on the offensive side, and the pair combined for 12 of the teams 14 points in the quarter as they battled back to a 42-40 lead with 4:19 to play, but the Lancers made adjustments to force the ball to other players and closed the quarter on a 11-3 run to return to the lead, going up 51-45 into the fourth quarter.
LCCC showed their resolve in the final quarter, tying the game at 53, with an 8-2 run of their own, and again at 58 after Spring hit a three for her 24th point of the game. They would go ahead on the next possession on a Marcela Pinedo-Saavedra putback, but the Lancers went up 62-60 over the next few minutes and they wouldn't surrender the lead.
"We know the game is a game of runs and they were going to make a run, and we could make our run," McWilliams said. "It was just about stepping up and making a stance and swinging the momentum back in our favor."
Megown hit a three, and then made three free throws on a foul to close a 68-60 lead to just two points with 23 seconds remaining. However, the Lancers made 15 of 21 free throws in the fourth quarter and were able to hold off the Golden Eagles to end their season with a 72-66 win.
Spring led the charge for LCCC with 24 points in the game, including 15 in the second half alone, finishing with a double double thanks to another ten-rebound performance. She also added four blocks. Her 24 points makes her the all-time single season scoring leader in school history.
Toualeu closed her season with a 14-point 12 rebound double-double, adding four assists. Megown also finished the season on a strong note with 17 points, including nine in the final quarter, and Pinedo-Saavedra finished with six points, five rebounds and two assists.
McWilliams said Toualeu and Megown are part of a core that can come back next season to build on.
"We are a young team with a lot of freshmen and it's good to see those kids find their groove and their feel, and hopefully we can continue to build upon their success this year."
LCCC closes the season with an 11-18 record and will be graduating five sophomores from the roster. For more information on the game, visit www.golccc.com.