CHEYENNE, WY – The Laramie County Community College women's basketball team left no doubt on Friday afternoon in the Thanksgiving Classic presented by Little America as they routed the Otero College Rattlers 86-48 to open their two-game set over the weekend.  

The first quarter couldn't have started any better for the Golden Eagles. A 16-0 run keyed by three steals and strong defense put LCCC in command, particularly thanks to the work from Sabela Carro who had a hand in six of the seven opening baskets.

The Rattlers slowed the run down and played even after the media timeout for a period, but up 19-5 the Golden Eagles went on an 8-0 run to close the first quarter and go up 27-5 into the second.  

The good vibes continued into the second quarter as the LCCC offense pushed the lead up to as much as 29 thanks to answering two for one for most of the Rattler's shots that went in.

 By the half, the Golden Eagles had forced 15 Rattler turnovers and had used 14 assists to help them to a 44-18 lead going into the second half.

The tempo of the game picked up in the third quarter as the Otero offense began to play with more urgency. They were able to close the gap to as little as 22 after LCCC extended their lead back to 29 to start the quarter.

The defense clamped down again in the final two minutes after a Rinaldo timeout and the lead was pushed back to 61-34 going into the final quarter.

A pair of threes from Kelly Megown and Nuria Florensa were early gut punches to Otero in the fourth quarter as the lead went to a game high 33 right at the start of the final quarter. The energy from the Rattlers was evidently drained and by the media timeout, the Golden Eagles had pushed the lead to 77-38.

From there, LCCC outscored the Rattlers 25-14 in the quarter and closed out their first game of the Thanksgiving Classic with a dominant 86-48 victory.

Five different Golden Eagles recorded double digits in the win, led by a 22-point night from Florensa. Carro was also big in more than just her scoring, putting up 18 points but also adding six assists and six steals.

Flora Lukow finished with 16 points and five assists with Irelynd Barnes adding another 13 and Megown notching 11.  

The Golden Eagles team numbers are even more impressive. The squad finished with 24 assists and forced 27 turnovers from the Rattlers. They also won the rebounding battle 36-20 and had 14 offensive rebounds.

The win helps LCCC shake off back-to-back losses to Colorado Northwest and Northeastern. They will look to put a winning streak together when they challenge Trinidad State College at 3:00 pm,

The Trojan women fell to Gillette College 106-80 in a high paced game to open the Classic. The other contest will put Gillette into action against Otero College in the 11:00 am game.

More information can be found at www.golccc.com.