Calisto’s Career-High Vaults T-Birds to Win Over Bulldogs

Freshman Filipa Calisto hit three of her four three-pointers in the second half to finish the game with 16 points off the bench in the Thunderbirds 80-68 win over Clarendon College.

The T-Birds trailed quickly, falling behind the Bulldogs 5-0 to start the game. NMJC outscored Clarendon 17-5 over the next 5:30 of play to take the lead 17-10 with 2:00 minutes left in the quarter. NMJC led by five points, 19-14, after one quarter of play.

The second quarter saw the T-Birds expand their lead to 11 points, 28-17, with 7:55 to go in the quarter. A prevalent theme in the night was how the Bulldogs would not back down. Clarendon climbed back into the game with a 13-3 run to get the Bulldogs within one with 4:26 to go in the second. 

The T-Birds sure knew how to handle the counter Thursday evening as they rattled off a massive 19-5 run to close out the half and take the 50-35 lead. Once again, Clarendon found a way back into the game. The Bulldogs went wild in the third quarter, outscoring the T-Birds 20-6 in the first 8:30 of the quarter to claw within one point 55-56.

NMJC finished the third quarter clinging to a 62-57 lead. The Bulldogs pulled within two points, 62-64, however the T-Birds pushed back with a three-pointer by Calisto to get the lead back to five points with 7:21 to go in the game. 

Calisto hit her fourth three of the game, a dagger from the left wing to give the T-Birds a 77-67 lead with 2:19 to go. NMJC would go on to beat the Bulldogs by 12 points 80-68.

Delma Zita finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the 12-point win. Madina Camara scored nine points and hauled in six rebounds.

Sandra Magolico added nine points and eight rebounds. Danna Grenald scored 11 points in the contest. Mariama Sow grabbed six rebounds.

Sydney Hobbs finished the evening with a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line scoring eight points.

The T-Birds recognized eight members of their team for sophomore night. The athletes were Danna Grenald, Delma Zita, Madina Camara, Bianca Juzzo, Sandra Magolico, Mariama Sow, Duda Raimundo, and Sydney Hobbs. 

The T-Birds shot 29-of-74 (39.2%) from the field, 7-for-23 (30.4%) from the three-point line, and 15-of-17 (88.2%) from the free throw line.

The Thunderbirds jump to 22-5 overall and finish the season 11-3 in the WJCAC. 

NMJC has qualified for the Region V Tournament hosted at Frenship HS in Wolfforth, Texas. The T-Birds will play the No. 3 seed Grayon College on Thursday, March 9 at 3:00 p.m. CDT.