NMJC (WBB) Suffers 1st Loss
South Plains forward Isabel Joai knocked down a two-point field goal with one second to go on the clock to upset the No. 3 Thunderbirds 59-57 on the road in Levelland, Texas Monday night.
The Thunderbirds were up by seven points, 55-48, with 2:45 to go in the game when forward Emma Najjuma went down with an ankle injury. This led to a fast break layup that cut the lead to five points.
The No. 12 Texans closed the final three minutes of the game on a 11-2 run. The T-Birds were unable to make a shot from the field in the final 4:15 of the game. Cacia Antonio had a chance to take the final shot but turned the ball over with just over two seconds to play. South Plains's Joai hit the game-winning shot off the glass from the free throw line with a second to go. NMJC guard Fatime Seck tried to get a shot off from three as time expired, however the attempt went wayward as the buzzer sounded.
The loss snaps a 15-game winning streak to start the season. The streak was the second-longest win (20) streak to start a season and third-longest win streak (28) in program history.
Guard Cacia Antonio finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Nuria Estrade recorded 12 points and three assists. Sophomore forward Pania Davis registered 10 points and five rebounds.
Sophomore Amyah Sutton went 2-of-4 from the 3-point line to finish with 10 points and four rebounds. Fatime Seck ended the game with seven points. 53 of the 57 points scored by the Thunderbirds were sophomores. Emma Najjuma grabbed five rebounds in the loss.
The Thunderbirds surrendered 23 offensive rebounds and 27 defensive rebounds. NMJC only recorded 22 rebounds the entire game and were outrebounded by 28.
The T-Birds shot 20-for-53 (37.7%) from the field, 7-for-20 (35.0%) from the 3-point line, and 10-of-14 (71.4%) from the charity stripe. The Thunderbirds forced just 17 turnovers and held the Texans to 33.8% from the field and 13.6% from the three-point line.
The No. 3 Thunderbirds drop to 15-1 (0-1) and will look to avenge their Monday night loss against Western Texas on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 5:45 p.m. MST in Hobbs, NM.
