Lady T-Birds Still Perfect at 13-0; Beat Lady Mavs

NEWS-SUN STAFF REPORT

The New Mexico Junior College women's basketball team won again Monday night, beating the Lady Mavericks of Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa by 30 points.

The Lady Thunderbirds beat the Lady Mavericks 89-59. The 59 points by Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa matched the most given up by NMJC this season.

"We allowed them to hit 11 threes, which is something that we are going to have to correct," NMJC coach Drew Sanders said. "They shot the ball extremely well."

For the first quarter of play, the Lady Thunderbirds had a fight on their hands. NMJC led by just nine points, 30-21, at the end of the first 10 minutes of play.

The game was close for the first quarter," Sanders said. "We gave up the most points in any quarter we have played this year."

The game didn't stay close long though as NMJC picked up its defensive play in the second quarter, holding Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa to just 10 points. At the same time, NMJC scored 19 and took a 49-31 lead into the break.

New Mexico Junior College outscored Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa 21-15 in the third quarter and 19-13 in the fourth. While Sanders was not happy with the way his team played, the Lady T-Birds' coach said he never doubted his team would win.

"We played very, very lethargic," Sanders said. "We had 11 turnovers in the first half. It was one of those games that was a very ugly game, but it was never a game that was ever in doubt. We just didn't play the type of basketball we need to play to win big games. So, we have got some work to do."

New Mexico Junior College had four players finish with double figure scoring. Alexes Bryant led the Lady T-Birds with 29 points. Danielle Craft contributed 19 points while Amanda Maqueia chipped in 13. Thamires Andrade finished with 10.

With the win, NMJC improves to 13-0 on the season. The Lady T-Birds will now head to Salt Lake City where they will play Salt Lake Community College on Friday. Salt Lake Community College has won its last three games and is 9-2 for the season. The Lady Bruins entered the season ranked No. 5 in the preseason poll, one spot ahead of the currently undefeated Lady T-Birds. The first regular season poll will be released today.