CHEYENNE, WY – The Laramie County Community College women's basketball team rolled to an important conference win on the road against Western Wyoming Community College 59 to 54 to improve to 18-8 on the year.
The opening quarter was a close quarter for the opening eight minutes with the Golden Eagles holding a four to five-point lead throughout until their defense was able to break open the game with a 6-0 run to give them a 22-12 lead at the half.
The offenses would slow down in the second quarter and the first four minutes only saw nine points between the two sides. LCCC kept up their defensive effort and were able to build the lead to eleven at 37-26.
The Golden Eagles finished shooting 45 percent from the field in the first half including four for four from the three-point line and Head Coach Ayana McWilliams said that fit into their plan to attack the zone from outside in.
"We came into today with the mentality that we were going to be zone busters. We were going to be shot ready when the ball came out and we were going to work it outside in. We were going to cut hard to the basketball and just find that open hand and it paid off for us."
The second half opened with a 12-2 run for LCCC to build their lead to 21 but the Mustangs responded to chip into the deficit from 49-28 to a 12-point lead 53-41 with ten minutes remaining after intensifying their full court press.
The run continued into the fourth quarter as Western Wyoming opened with a 7-0 run to trim it to a five-point game with 8:18 to go and McWilliams called a time out.
The scoring drought continued into the final five minutes with LCCC still without any fourth quarter points, but strong defense for the Golden Eagles helped them preserve their lead into the media time out at 53-50.
"We knew we needed to just find a way to get some stops," McWilliams said. "I told the girls we obviously had been there before and we knew they were going to make a run. Now it was about finding a way to get some stops and when the shot goes up being the first one to get the rebound."
With two-minutes to go, Western Wyoming made a layup to trim it to a one-point game and after a missed three from both sides, the Golden Eagles got the ball to Halle Hester in the left corner to give the Golden Eagles a two-possession lead with 36.9 seconds to go.
"The basketball gods definitely shined upon us. Halle's been getting that shot and her having the headiness and the confidence to step into that one and just let it fly, just staying strong and standing in there and knocking that down was a big boost for us."
The Golden Eagles would finish the game with free throws and picked up a big conference win to improve to 4-3 on the year with the 59-54 victory.
Four Golden Eagles finished in double figures led by Monique Marcetic-Voatangi with 14. Shannon Niles added 12 going 3-3 from deep and both Hester and Lylah Spring finished with eleven each. Laramie County finished 7-10 from three and closed the game with a 43 percent mark from the field.
Defensively LCCC held the Mustangs to just 27 percent from the field and just 3-21 from deep.
Laramie County won the rebounding battle on the defensive end, but 26 offensive rebounds for Western Wyoming was a big part of the comeback in the second half.
The Golden Eagles picked up their 18th win of the year and will next head to Casper College for a rematch with the Thunderbirds who entered the week as the #16 team in the nation.
"Everyone after this one gets bigger and bigger," McWilliams said. "We just have to not get too far ahead of ourselves and worry about streaks and just come in every night putting our hard hats on and get the job done."