North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (12-9, 2-1 Region IX Division II, 3-1 NCCAC) avenged their loss two weeks ago to the Central Community College Lady Raiders (17-7, 2-1 Region IX Division II, 3-2 NCCAC) by a score of 57-50 after jumping out to a 17 point lead early in the game.

The win was an important victory for the Lady Knights in both the Region IX Division II standings and also the Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC) standings. The victory evened the Lady Knights and Lady Raiders in the standings with both owning a 2-1 record with the Lady Knights hosting Southeast Community College (12-12, 0-2 Region IX Division II, 1-2 NCCAC) and the Lady Raiders traveling to Beatrice yet this season.

“It was a big win for us in the Region,” said assistant coach Nolan Collins. “The girls are playing with a lot of confidence after winning four straight.”

The victory also gave the Lady Knights a leg up in the NCCAC race as they improved to 3-1. Other teams in the conference race are Central who is now 3-2, McCook Community College who is 1-3 and Southeast who is 1-2.

The Lady Knights got off to a blistering start and used a 10-0 run to earn their largest lead at 22-5 early in the game. April Stull led the way totaling a halftime high of seven points. The Lady Raiders would not go quietly however and used a 13-0 run of their own to cut the score at halftime to 31-23. Lindsey Larson led the Lady Raiders at the break with six points.

In the second half the Lady Raiders would continue their comeback and were able to even gain a lead over the Lady Knights. North Platte would answer with strong play of their own to earn as much as a 12 point lead before a 3-pointer with a second left made the final margin seven for the Lady Knights.

DaVontaye Merritt did not score in double-figures for the second straight game, but was able to pull down a game-high 18 rebounds. Jordan Dickerson and Aliyah Brown led the way for the Lady Knights in scoring as they each scored 11 points. April Stull also was in double-figures for the Lady Knights with 10 points.

Sophia Yarger was the only Lady Raider in double-figures with 17. North Platte native Shelby Allberry again led the Lady Raiders in rebounds with seven.

The Lady Knights take the road next week as they face the Northeastern Junior College Plainswomen (9-10) on Tuesday Feb. 4 at 6:30 p.m. CST in Sterling, Colo. and then travel to Lamar, Colo. to take on the Lamar Community College Runnin’ Lopes (12-7) on Friday Feb.7 at 6:30 p.m. CST. The Lady Knights fell to the Plainswomen 51-67 at home back in December and knocked off the Runnin’ Lopes 87-84 at home earlier this year.