Lady Plainsmen Drop Both Games in Arizona
[BORGER – November 27, 2022]
Lady Plainsmen are apart of historic weekend as they participated in the Chapman Automotive Thanksgiving Classic in Yuma, AZ!
The Lady Plainsmen made the trek west to Yuma, AZ where they competed at Arizona Western College. The classic was picked to be featured on ESPN+ with the new partnership between them and the NJCAA. It was the first in the basketball world as they already had other sports featured in the streaming service. The Lady Plainsmen were only able to travel with 5 girls to the classic as some were out with illness. The Lady Plainsmen took on #13 ranked Arizona Western on Friday and Central Arizona on Saturday.
In game 1 of the classic, the Lady Plainsmen took on the host school Arizona Western. The host team came into the contest undefeated at 6-0 and ranked #13 in the national polls. The shorthanded Lady Plainsmen would have their work cut out for them in the nationally televised matchup. The Lady Plainsmen started the game strong slowing the pace way down and taking a 3-point lead by the end of the 1st quarter. To start the 2nd quarter the Lady Plainsmen saw their lead quickly go away as they began to fatigue, and they eventually went into the half with a 10-point deficit 35-25. The host team Arizona Western did not let up and forced the Lady Plainsmen into 17% shooting in the 3rd quarter. The already shorthanded Lady Plainsmen entered the 4th quarter with only 4 players due to Teresa Mbemba fouling out. The Lady Plainsmen had 22 turnovers in the game and were out rebounded by 19 for the game. The standouts for the Lady Plainsmen in game 1 were Bahar Kalkan leading the team with 14 points and Giselle Hernandez leading the team with 10 rebounds. Teresa Mbemba and Sa’Nya Green also chipped in 10 points.
In game 2, the Lady Plainsmen added an extra body to the bench and now had 6 total players entering their matchup with Central Arizona. The Lady Plainsmen started the game off in zone again to limit foul trouble and kept the game close with a small deficit 17-14 to end the 1st. Entering the 2nd quarter, the Lady Plainsmen were showing poise and toughness by keeping the game close and went into the half only trailing by 2, 24-26. The game started to slip away in the 3rd quarter as the Central Arizona Vaqueras doubled their points total from the entire 1st half. The Lady Plainsmen kept fighting in the 4th quarter although the damage was already done and could not complete a comeback. The final score of game 2 was 73-58 and the standouts were Teresa Mbemba with 18 points. Xoe Rosalez added 17 followed by Bahar Kalkan with 11. Leading rebounder was Tania Kerr with 9 followed by Sa’Nya Green and Giselle Hernandez each with 8.
Although it was not the ideal turnout for the weekend, the Lady Plainsmen played well despite the circumstances, making the debut on ESPN+ an exciting event for their fans, family, and friends to be a part of. The Lady Plainsmen will make a pit stop in Hobbs, NM on the way home to play University of the Southwest JV Monday evening, before they return home to host a classic of their own December 9&10.