Graves' 29 Leads T-Birds to Final Win of 2025

Jada Graves dominated the Rangers Sunday, Dec. 14 leading the T-Birds to an 80-70 win in the fall finale.

Graves was phenomenal in the first half scoring 23 points while adding six assists and five rebounds. The sophomore guard finished the day with 29 points, nine assists, and five rebounds.   

Ranger shot 42.8% from the 3-point line in the first half making six three-pointers. Ranger's outside shots put them in front 37-33 with 3:18 to go in the second quarter. The T-Birds closed on a 13-0 run to end the half and take the lead 46-37. 

The Thunderbirds expanded their lead to 16 points, 65-49, after three quarters of play.  NMJC led by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter, but Ranger kept hanging around due to their 3-point shooting. Ranger closed the gap in the final minutes to fall by just by 10 points. Ranger's Imani Johnson shot 8-for-15 from beyond the arc to finish with 24 points. 

Addison Edwards finished with a career-high 16 points and was solid from the stripe shooting 8-of-10. Kaycee Steinke came off the bench making four triples to finish with 14 points. Madison Wilson chipped in eight points.  

The T-Birds shot 28-for-60 (46.7%) from the field, 5-of-20 (25%) from the 3-point line, and 19-of-27 (70.4%) from the stripe. NMJC forced 16 turnovers and held the Rangers to 41.4% from the field.

The No. 10 Thunderbirds move to 13-1 on the year and will face Collin College in Plano, TX Friday, Jan. 2 at 3 p.m. CST.