Strong finish pushes Lady Indians past Trinidad 71-61

TRINIDAD, Colo. – A strong fourth quarter by the McCook Community College women Saturday fueled a 71-61 road win over Trinidad State.

“We got another ugly win,” said MCC Coach Brandon Pritchett.

MCC trailed 51-50 at the start of the fourth quarter then outscored Trinidad State 21-10 to close out the game.

“We knew Trinidad plays chaotic and tries to make you play fast. And they did that to us for three and a half quarters,” said Pritchett. “But the last five minutes we executed our stuff and got stops on the defensive end.”

Part of the late surge was led freshman Peyton Cox (Wauneta-Palisade) who scored 10 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter. She hit two two-of-three shots from the field and went six-for-seven from the free-throw line and grabbed eight rebounds in the final 10 minutes of the game.

“Peyton had a huge game for us off the bench with 18 points and 12 rebounds,” said Pritchett. “It's great to have her back and getting in the flow of things. She brings a toughness to our team that we lack at times.”

Cox finished the game making five of six shots from the field and eight of 10 free throws.

Fellow freshman Laia Izquierdo Altimira (Barcelona, Spain) put up a double-double for the Lady Indians with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Irene Fernandez Pavesio (sophomore, Asturias, Spain) scored 12 points for MCC.

MCC had a balanced attack with all five MCC starters scoring at least five points and three rebounds and the Lady Indian bench outscored Trinidad 31-19 led by eight points from freshman Johanna Gerlach (Hachborn, Germany).

MCC shot 49.0 percent from the floor and hit 18 of 22 free throws (81.8 percent). The Lady Indians outrebounded the Trojans 43-24.

Trinidad State shot 36.9 percent from the field and went eight-for-13 from the free-throw line. The Trojans fall to 1-15 overall and 0-2 in Region IX South play.

MCC improves to 11-8 on the season and 2-0 in the Region IX south division. The Lady Indians will continue region play Tuesday night at home against Lamar Community College. The Runnin’ Lopes are 7-11 on the season but have started the semester with wins over North Platte, Hastings JV and Northeastern Junior College.

Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. in the Peter and Delores Graff Events Center.

Up-to-date information about MCC basketball including livestream links, schedule, statistics, rosters, photos and more can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com