Fourth Quarter Woes

A hot streak is something rarely talked about amongst teams; you do not want to jinx it.  Some individuals are superstitions while some are not.  Regardless of which side of the spectrum you as a fan falls on, it would be a fair statement to say that the Plainswomen have been hot since returning from the holiday break.  They have seemed to find their groove and been playing much better as a whole.  Their turn around from the first semester is like night and day, but if you talk to the coaching staff, they knew it was there the whole time, it was just a matter of time to when it would surface.  After tonight's matchup against the Eastern Wyoming Lancers, the Plainswomen's hot streak may have taken a slight detour.

The game would start out with the Plainswomen taking the early lead, and sustain it throughout the rest of the quarter.  When the buzzer would sound, Northeastern would lead the Lancers 25-17.  In the first four minutes of the second, the Plainswomen would extend their lead 36-23, but shortly after, the Lancers would close the gap, and eventually tie the game up at the buzzer 44 a piece.

During halftime, the Plainswomen were able to get their minds right by recalling how they played against EWC when they were at Torrington.  Before they were able to recall how they played, EWC gave the Plainswomen a quick shooting seminar and too a small lead after going on a 16-5 run.  It was apparent that the Plainswomen were trying to feed the post and dominate in the post due to the sheer size difference between NJC and EWC.  The only problem was that NJC could finish inside the post or were hesitant to score when they had the chance.  That as well as the perimeter players struggling from the field lead to the Lancers run.  Once the Plainswomen got the lid off the rim, they were able to tie the game up a minute before the quarter would end.

In the fourth and final quarter, with the game tied 63-63, it was anyone's ball game.  It would be who could execute down the stretch.  The game would go back and forth, as each team would exchange leads.  It was around the five-minute mark when the Lancers would take their final lead in which they would sustain until the end of the game.  The final score would finish 89-80.  As mentioned before, the Plainswomen's hot streak could still be alive, but simply just taking a detour. 

The Plainswomen will be on the road on February 7 at Otero and February 9 at Lamar before returning to play at home against McCook and North Platte on February 16 & 17.