STERLING, CO – A valiant effort in the second half came up short as the Laramie County Community College women's basketball team dropped their road game on Tuesday night to Northeastern Junior College 71-62 after trailing by as much as 28 in the second half.
The Golden Eagles started out on the right foot and after two minutes had a 4-0 lead on the home Plainswomen. That didn't last and into the media timeout NJC had retaken the lead thanks to a 10-3 run.
By the end of the quarter, the run had expanded to a 19-5 push and the Golden Eagles were down by double digits entering the second frame.
An early surge by LCCC once again brought the deficit back, making it 21-14 after a Kelly Megown three, but NJC went on a 16-0 run from there to push ahead 37-14 and take command of the game. The Golden Eagles did get the last bucket of the first half, but that trimmed the gap to 44-20 after 20 minutes of play.
NJC expanded the lead on a 4-0 run to begin the second half and that is when the fire was lit for LCCC. The Golden Eagles proceeded to reel off an 18-6 run to close the gap to 55-38 and eventually would finish the third on an 8-0 run after they found success from beyond the three-point line.
LCCC entered the fourth quarter down just 12 in a 59-47 game.
Both offenses hit a wall in the fourth quarter and the pace and tempo of the game began to slow down. Between turnovers by the Golden Eagles and fouls by the Plainswomen, neither team was able to make much of a push. LCCC did close the gap to six on a Marcela Pinedo-Saavedra lay in but that was the high-water mark as NJC pushed the lead back to 71-62 to close out the win.
Flora Lukow was the linchpin for the Golden Eagles in the game, finishing with 25 points and six rebounds. She also added three steals.
Pinedo-Saavedra added a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards and Sabela Carro added 13 points despite fouling out in the fourth quarter.
The Golden Eagles will have a few days to rest but are back in action on Friday and Saturday in the Thanksgiving Classic presented by Little America. The women will face off with Otero College and Trinidad State College with both games scheduled for 3 PM tip times.
More information on the games can be found at www.golccc.com.