The North Central Missouri College basketball teams went on the road Tuesday night, traveling to Iowa Falls, IA for a doubleheader with Ellsworth Community College. Neither the Lady Pirates nor the Pirates could return with a win as Ellsworth took both games, winning the women’s contest, 74-61, and the men’s game, 72-69.
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Lady Pirates
The North Central women battled Ellsworth in a close first half and led 35-34 at the break. Things went south in the second half, however, as Ellsworth took control and pulled away for the 13-point win.
“We had 29 turnovers and that was the difference in the game,” Lady Pirates’ Head Coach Jenni Croy said. “That was way too many turnovers and they capitalized off our mistakes. It was our first road game of the season and that is something we are just going to have to adjust to.”
The Lady Pirates got another strong game from Ashley Zeih, who led the Lady Pirates with 24 points. Jordan Ewigman was in double figures as well, scoring 18 points. Lauren Rackers finished with nine points off three three-pointers in the first half.
The loss was the first of the season for the Lady Pirates, who dropped to 5-1 as a result. North Central is ranked seventh in the NJCAA Division II poll, which was released today.
Pirates
The Pirates lost a close one, falling by just three points. The Pirates found themselves in a fast paced game with a lot of loose balls.
Coach Steve Richman said the Pirates got off to a slow start and were down by as many as 11 in the first half before cutting the deficit to just six points at intermission.
NCMC fought back in the second half, staying within three to five points until taking a one-point lead with six minutes to play. After that, it was nip-and-tuck but, in the end, the Pirates wound up short.
JaWan Davis led the way for the Pirates with 26 points. Raymon Jones scored 13 and Josh Stockman added 10 points.
The lost dropped the North Central men to 2-2 on the season.
Next up for North Central is another road trip next Tuesday. NCMC heads south to Sedalia to battle State Fair Community College. Action begins with the women’s game at 5:30 p.m. and the men’s game will follow at 7:30.