Women, men (in 2 OT thriller) beat Howard

Back on its home court for the first time in 18 days, the New Mexico Junior College women's basketball team overcame a slow start to beat Howard College 72-56 at Caster Activity Center. The Lady T-Birds turned the ball over 14 times in the win, 11 of which came in the first half.

"I wasn't happy with thte first quarter and a half," NMJC women's coach Drew Sanders said. "We were turning the ball over like crazy and not defending. But, you have got to be happy with third quarter. "

The Lady T-Birds trailed for most of the first quarter, falling behind by as many as six points. the NMJC women tied the game at 16-16 on layup from Laurynn McGowen with 2 seconds left in the quarter.

The NMJC women took their first lead of the game early in the second when Ekaterina Zhhibareva scored on a lay up , but Howard College responded with atn 8-0 run, re-establishin its six point lead with 7:10 left in the second.

"They are a good team," Sanders said of Howard College. "He is a great coach and always has been, and they always play us tough. That just tells you what kind of ball club they are."

The next seven minutes belonged to the Lady T-Birds as NMJC closed out the quarter on a 16-4 run, taking a 34-28 lead into the break.

NMJC's hot finish in the second quarter carried over into the third quarter as the Lady Thunderbirds opened the second half with 11-2 run, pushing their lead to 45-30. They Lady T-Birds outscored Howard College 18-15 in the third, taking a 52-43 lead into the final 10 minutes of play.

"We kind of got some separation there," Sanders said. "We just played really,really solid defense and we took care of the ball. We got a few transition baskets which helped us establish the lead."

During the fourth quarter NMJC had its best offensive quarter, dropping in 20 points, while holding Howard College to just 13.

The Lady T-Birds had four players finish the night in double figures and one more just miss out, thanks to a missed free throw. Dezirae Hampton and Daiane Machado tied for the game high as each player had 16 points. McIntosh chipped in 11 points and Alarie Mayze finished with 10 and game high in rebounds (nine) and steals (four). McGowen had nine points for the NMJC women.

"If you look at our stats for the year, it is like that," Sadners said. "We have four girls averaging double figures and two more that are right there. The balance makes it hard for teams to guard us."

With the win, the NMJC women improve to 17-4 on the season and 6-1 on WJCAC play. the Lady Thunderbirds will be back on the road Thursday when they head to Odessa to face the undefeated no. 1 Lady Wranglers (19-0, 7-0 WJCAC).

"No. 1 Odessa," Sanders said. "We are excited to play them."