CHEYENNE, WY – The Laramie County Community College women's basketball team got off to a quick start but couldn't keep up their momentum on the way to a 58-55 loss to Air Force Prep to open the season at the Blue FCU RAC on Friday afternoon.
"It thought our first half was really good," Head Coach Daniele Rinaldo said. "I saw a lot of great things. We were clicking and them something in that second half just wasn't working for us."
The result wasn't for lack of a good first half for LCCC. The Golden Eagles were able to use strong defense, and an inside presence built by Sabela Carro who had six points in the first quarter, most of which came in a 13-4 run to start the game.
"It was good to see us come out, be competitive and hit some shots," Rinaldo said.
Air Force Prep did close the gap to 15-11 going into the second quarter but LCCC switched the attack from inside to outside as threes began to fall frequently from several Golden Eagles who hit five of their twelve threes in the first half.
By the end of the first half, the Golden Eagles were leading comfortably 33-17 after holding the Huskies to just six points in the quarter.
"We were really playing some tough defense as well, getting on the boards, which helped us offensively. Our second quarter was really good so I'm proud of that," Rinaldo said.
Energy in the second half was a big key for both coaches.
The Golden Eagles came out with guns blazing but couldn't find their mark, missing four threes in the opening two minutes and seeing Air Force Prep take advantage to go on an 8-4 run and forcing a LCCC timeout. The lead which had been as much as 19 in the first half was cut down to just seven going into the fourth quarter after the Huskies outscored LCCC 20-11 in the frame.
"I think ultimately it was more of an effort and intensity piece. We weren't trying to switch up a ton on offense or defense, so we just need to be able to put a full 40 minutes together and then we will be okay," Rinaldo said.
The offense continued to struggle to find much in the second half, and it was evident in the numbers where LCCC only shot 31 percent from the field and just 1-12 from three in the second half.
The Huskies on the other hand found their rhythm with a three headed assault from Eva Love and Kori Rainwater to tie the game late at 52, again at 55, and then hit a clutch three down the stretch to ice the game with a 58-55 win.
LCCC did have some good building blocks after the first game.
Carro led the attack going 7-9 from the field and tallying 16 points in her collegiate debut. That went along with four steals and four assists.
"We started very good. We did a lot of transitions as a team not individually so I felt good," Carro said of her first collegiate game.
Flora Lukow, Marcela Pinedo-Saavedra, and Nuria Florensa all finished with nine points and Lukow added four assists as well.
The Golden Eagles went 7-10 from the foul line and finished the game shooting 35 percent from the field. They did win the rebounding battle 44-41 but gave up 12 offensive rebounds.
They will have some time to work on what they get from the film of their first game as they don't have another game until they travel to McCook Community College on November 8th. The opening tip of that game is scheduled for 4:30 pm MST.
More information on this and the full schedule for the Golden Eagles can be found at www.golccc.com.