MCC women upset Region No. 2 seed, reach semis

LA JUNTA, Colo. – The McCook Community College women’s basketball has earned a place in the final four teams of the Region IX Tournament with a 61-49 quarterfinal win Thursday over second-seeded Eastern Wyoming Community College.

“I thought we came out and really set the tone defense in the first half,” said MCC Coach Brandon Pritchett. “We played really hard and buckled down on the little things with rebounding and limiting our turnovers.”

The Lady Indians’ defensive muscle to start the game held the Lady Lancers to four first-quarter points and just 15 in the first half. Carla Torrubia Cano (sophomore, Melilla Spain) hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first period to give MCC a 14-4 lead. The Lady Indians led at the half 27-15. The Tribe held Eastern Wyoming to 19.2 percent shooting in the first half and 28.8 percent for the game.

Thursday’s win marked a 49-point improvement for the Lady Indians since dropping a 92-56 game to Eastern Wyoming in the second game of the season at Torrington. MCC also lost 63-55 at home Feb. 13 the last time these two teams met.

Thursday’s win also gives the Lady Indians another shot at top-seeded Otero Junior College in the 6 p.m. (MT) semi-final Friday as the top three seeds in the south (MCC, Otero and Western Nebraska) advance along with the top seeded Casper College in the north.

Gail Whiting (sophomore, Montgomery, Ala.) led MCC in scoring with 15 points to go along with four rebounds. Cano finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Amiya Dartest (Jennings, La.) had 10. Freshman Valentina Monzo (Santiago, Chili) had eight rebounds.

MCC shot 41.7 percent from the field, made eight of 19 3-pointers (42.1 percent) and was 13 of 25 from the free-throw line (52 percent). MCC out-rebounded Eastern Wyoming 36-30. Both teams had 15 turnovers.

‘We were aggressive got to the free throw line, we just need to finish,” Pritchett said. “I thought our bench really played well. Gail was huge on both ends of the floor.”

MCC had 61 points from its bench Thursday including six from Carmen Leboreiro Iriarte (freshman, Lugo, Spain) and four from Maite Lara Garcia (redshirt freshman, Sant Joan Despi, Spain).

“Carmen gave us great minutes and made two big shots in the first half when we were late in the shot clock,” Pritchett said. “Maite had a really solid game defensively and played under control on the offensive end.”

In other second-round games Thursday it was the north’s top seed Casper College with a 68-36 win over Northeastern Junior College. Western Nebraska (No. 2 seed in the south) downed Laramie County Community College 75-61; Otero, the top seed in the south, downed Northwest College 66-52.

MCC was the third seed in south division and won a first-round play-in game 53-47 over Lamar Community College April 3. Eastern Wyoming ends the season at 13-7. The Lady Lancers had earned a first-round bye in the tournament as the second seeded team in the north.

Friday’s opponent is a familiar one as the Lady Rattlers took a couple narrow wins from MCC, 62-60 in La Junta on Feb. 28 and 61-60 at the Peter and Dolores Graff Events Center March 27.

“Tonight was a really good team win,” Pritchett said. “We have to continue this energy against a tough Otero team tomorrow.”