By Daniel Stinman - Area Director of Marketing and Public Information
Norfolk, Neb. – North Platte Community College women's basketball team voyaged to Norfolk to take on the Hawks of Northeast Community College for their fifth straight road game. The Knights needed an extra five minutes to earn the victory over the Hawks on Tuesday evening, 73-66.
Northeast took the overtime tip and struck first capitalizing on one-of-two free throws to take the early lead, 59-60. Knights responded with a 5-0 run over the next 1:30 to take their first lead of the overtime period, as Fumnaya Ijeh drove the lane and finished on the left side of the basket to provide the needed spark to the North Platte offense, 64-60.
Hawks narrowed the deficit down to one possession inside three minutes, but the Knights answered with some timely offense and built a five-point lead when Kayla Pope found a crease and drove the baseline for the layup inside the final minute. Northeast couldn't mount the momentum needed to attempt a comeback and Jordyn Moon closed out the game by going a perfect two-of-two at the free throw line as the Knights emerged victorious on the road.
Northeast won the opening tip of the game and jumped out to a four-point advantage in the open minutes of action. Moon put the Knights on the board after collecting the offensive rebound and getting her contested putback to fall over the outstretched hands of two Northeast defenders, 4-2. The Hawks stretched their lead to five on a three-pointer on their next possession, before baskets from Diamond Moore-Heath and Pope trimmed the deficit down to one with 6:28 to play in the opening quarter, 6-7.
Hawks extended their lead to three, before the Knights answered with a 10-0 run sparked by a Moon floater to push the North Platte advantage to seven, 16-9. Hawks attempted to mount some momentum late, but North Platte extended their lead back to seven by the end of the first quarter, 20-13.
Early in the second quarter, the Knights lead grew to eleven as Moore-Heath received the inbound from Pope and went to work inside using the glass to bank in her short-range jumper, 22-13. Northeast chipped away at the North Platte lead over the next four minutes, cutting the deficit to three with 4:56 to play in the second quarter, 24-21. Knights offense went cold from the field over the remaining minutes, which gave Northeast the momentum needed to tie the game as teams headed into the halftime break, 28-28.
Out of the break, the Knights and Hawks continued to battle as the quarter featured six lead changes and the point deferential never exceeded more than three points for the opening nine minutes. Leading 41-38, the Hawks extended their lead to five before Ijeh earned a trip to the free throw line and trimmed the deficit down to three. Northeast answered by briefly extending their lead back to five, before Avery Johnson narrowed the deficit down to four at the quarter break by going one-of-two at the free throw line, 41-45.
In the fourth quarter, the Knights had to answer the Hawks momentum as they quickly extended their lead to seven with 8:54 remaining in regulation. Moore-Heath and Pope answered on back-to-back offensive possessions to cut the deficit down to two, before the clock moved inside the final eight minutes.
North Platte continued to battle on the boards and earned some extra chances as a short run by Northeast was answered with a 5-0 burst by the Knights to temporarily retake the lead with 5:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, 53-52.
The Hawks regained the lead on a corner three inside the final four minutes, but Moon completed the old fashioned three-point play and a deep corner three by Janay Brauer gave the Knights a four-point lead inside the final two minutes.
Northeast trimmed the deficit down to one on their next offensive possession and ended up knotting the game up inside the final forty seconds. Knights and Hawks had limited chances over the remaining seconds and headed to a decisive overtime quarter to decide the winner.
Knights were led by Moore-Heath who tallied 20 points and twelve rebounds in thirty-three minutes of action. Brauer and Ijeh rounded out the double-digits scorers for North Platte finishing with 16 and 11 points, respectively.
North Platte (8-2) will close out their seven-game road trip with a weekend doubleheader in Wyoming. Knights open the weekend against Laramie County Community College on Friday, December 3 at 6pm. North Platte defeated the Golden Eagles 66-47 to open the 2021-22 season back on November 5.