EDMOND, Okla. – Despite not facing an opposing pitcher for nearly three weeks, the North Platte Community College softball team returned to action Saturday scoring four first-inning runs on the way to a 17-15, extra-inning win over Northeast Community College (Norfolk). The Knights lost the second game Saturday to Iowa Western Community College 21-2.

On Sunday, North Platte lost to Iowa Western 11-0 and beat Northeast 23-7.

“This weekend was like starting all over again, having three weeks off and not being able to get outside in those three weeks is difficult,” North Platte Coach Janelle Higgins said.

“We saw improvements from our last series of games, but like all teams in the Midwest right now we are eager to get outside on our home field and not be inside. We have only had two practices outside this year and it shows in our errors per game. It’s hard to practice fly balls and game situations inside.”

Hallei Morales (North Platte) enjoyed a productive weekend at the plate with 10 RBIs. She went five-for 11 in Edmond with a couple doubles.

The Knights are 3-9 on the season and are scheduled to take on Hastings College at home Wednesday with games at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

On Thursday North Platte travels to McCook for the annual Purple Out Games with a doubleheader for epilepsy awareness set to start at 4 p.m. This weekend Northeast Community College comes to town with a doubleheaders Saturday starting at 2 p.m. and Sunday starting at 1 p.m.

This was the first action of the year for Northeastern Community College and went 0-4. Iowa Western went 4-0 on the weekend to improve to 5-5 on the season.

“We will continue to improve as the season continues, we are proud of the fight and positive attitudes of our kids having to travel eight-plus hours, but they continue to step up and fight,” Higgins said.

SATURDAY: GAME 1 – North Platte CC 17, Northeast CC 15 (8 innings) — With two runners on base in the first inning, freshman Emily Marden (Papillion) lined a two-run triple to ignite the first-inning offensive burst. She scored on a double-steal and a sacrifice bat from Kayleigh Bucio (Rialto, Calif.) gave the Knights the 4-0 lead.

Megan Hernandez-Bellew (Broomfield, Colo.) led off the third with a triple, and she scored after a walk and a NCC error. Bucio made it 6-0 on a sacrifice fly. After allowing a NCC run in the fourth NPCC came back with a two-out rally in the fourth highlighted by a three-run double from Hallei Morales (North Platte) and a Bucio double to make it 10-1.

“We started out strong in Game One (Saturday) against NECC but let them all the way back into the game and had to fight for the win. Having the ability to fight back and not fold is huge but if we do our jobs in the bottom half of the game it wouldn’t have been such a dog fight,” Higgins said.

Freshman Hailey Wilkins (Tyler, Texas) started in the circle for North Platte. She pitched 3.2 innings, Sophomore Ashlynn Krueger (Littleton, Colo.) took over in the third and went 2.2 innings. Marsden pitched the final 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win.

After Norfolk scored three in the fourth and closed to 10-6 with a run in the fifth, the Knights added two more runs in the sixth on a Marsden double, an RBI single from Morales and a two-out triple from Mikayla Gibson, (West Valley, Utah) sophomore.

Northeast tied the game with seven runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to send the game into extras.

The Knights opened with a runner at second and the Hawks committed an error on an attempted sacrifice bunt by Gibson. Lindell singled to right to make it a 16-14 game, she later scored on an infield groundout.

SATURDAY: GAME 2 – Iowa Western 21, North Platte CC 2 – The Reivers came out with three runs in the first inning and busted the game open with a 10-run second inning taking advantage of North Platte errors and powering three home runs on the day.

The Knights were charged with a dozen errors in the game.

“At times this weekend, our defense was turning double plays and making outs quick but we also made a lot for routine/fundamental errors,” Higgins said. “Our pitchers were leaving pitches belt high and flat and they capitalized on our mistakes. It is hard to have 8-10 errors against any team and be able to recover but it is even harder when they are fundamentally sound.”

North Platte had five hits in the game with two from Megan Hernandez-Belew.

Emily Marsden went three innings for North Platte in the circle and Ashlynn Krueger went one.

SUNDAY: GAME 1 – Iowa Western 11, North Platte CC 0 – Iowa Western pitchers Julie Katz and Makayla Epp combined on a one-hit shutout as once again the Reivers came out early to take control of the game with six runs in the first inning three more in the second and added two more in the third.

North Platte’s lone hit came on a fourth-inning single by Emily Marsden.

Hailey Wilkins and Ashlynn Krueger shared pitching duties with Wilkins going 1.1 innings and Krueger 2.2.

“IWCC is always tough and hits the ball very well,” Higgins said.

SUNDAY: GAME 2 – North Platte CC 23, Northeast CC 7 – Willow Chitty (North Platte) snapped out of a one-for-10 start to the weekend to lead a 25-hit North Platte offense with four hits in five at bats, scoring four runs, smacking a double, triple, and driving home three RBIs as the Knights broke open a 1-1 in the second with a six-run second inning and an eight-run third.

The Knights also got four-hit games from Ashlynn Krueger and Sienna Pfaff (Salem, Utah) and three-hit games from Kayleigh Bucio and Emily Marsden. All nine position players who started the game had at least two hits.

“In Game 2 against NECC we hit the ball well, had a few mental lapses but were able to finish strong,” Higgins said.

Krueger and Marsden split pitching duties with Krueger going 2.1 innings allowing six hits and two earned runs. Marsden pitched 2.2 innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs.

The Nebraska volleyball team will play its lone 2019 spring match against Colorado State at McCook Community College in McCook, Nebraska on Saturday, April 20 at 1 p.m.

Approximately 1,300 tickets will go on sale Saturday, March 16 at 11 a.m. at the Graff Events Center on the McCook Community College campus. Tickets are $10 for ages 2 and older. All tickets must be paid for in cash. There will be a limit of four tickets sold per person, and you must be 16 or older with an ID in order to purchase tickets.

Doors to the match will open at 11:30 a.m., and the match will air on Husker Sports Network radio affiliates and online at Huskers.com and on the Huskers app. The Husker volleyball players will sign autographs following the match.

The trip to McCook continues Nebraska’s tradition of touring the state for spring volleyball matches. The Huskers played Colorado State in Kearney in 2017 and have also made recent visits to Grand Island, Wayne, Norfolk and Ogallala.

Nebraska is coming off a 2018 season in which it reached the NCAA Final Four for the fourth straight year, a first in program history. The Huskers were the NCAA Runner-Up after dropping a five-set match to Stanford in Minneapolis. NU returns five starters from that squad, including first-team All-American Lauren Stivrins.

COLUMBUS — The North Platte Community College women claimed the Division II Region IX championship Monday with a 68-60 win over Central Community College.

“I could not be more proud of this team,” North Platte Coach Jeff Thurman said. “We battled all night against a very good team. Our student-athletes showed a lot of heart tonight.”

The Knights came out with a purpose leading, 17-9 after 10 minutes, stretched the lead to 12 points near the end of the second quarter and led 33-23 at the half. The Raiders came out in the third period, and not only seized the lead but went on an 18-3 run to lead by 12 points.

“We could have folded in the third quarter being down 12 on the road,” Thurman said, “but this shows how much growth we’ve gone through in the last month or so.”

North Platte trailed 46-40 at the end of the third period but took the game back in the final 10 minutes enjoying a 28-14 fourth-quarter edge.

The Knights took advantage of opportunities at the line in the second half making 14 of 19 free-throw attempts (73.7 percent) while Central only made it to the free-throw line four times, making two free throws.

NPCC also took advantage of second-chance points 17-9 and enjoyed a 50-47 rebound edge for the game.

Sophomore Madisyn Francis (Houston, Texas) led all scorers with 21 points. Sophomore Nahatabaa Nacona (Chinle, Ariz.) scored 17 points and led the Knights with 11 rebounds. Freshman Emily Joseph (St. Petersburg, Fla.) scored 15 points, which included a three-for-seven showing at the 3-point line.

All three of Monday’s top scorers – Nacona, Francis and Joseph were named to the all-Region IX team. Coach Jeff Thurman was named Region IX Coach of the Year.

North Platte also got a double-digit night from freshman Katie Cox (New Port Richey, Fla.) who had 11 points and eight rebounds

For the game The Knights shot 31.8 percent from the field, made seven of 25 shots from beyond the 3-point line (28.0 percent) and made 19 of 26 free throws (73.1 percent)

Central shot 31.9 percent from the field, made seven of 28 shots from distance (25 percent) and nine of 12 free throws (75.0 percent.

The Raiders finish the season at 10-15.

“Winning the Region was our goal in August and we accomplished it by staying together and playing together,” said Thurman.

North Platte improves to 7-22 and will continues the post-season this weekend with a district playoff game — likely Saturday in North Platte. Official time, date and pairings will be announced.

Named to the Region IX team were:

Nahatabaa Nacona, North Platte CC

Madisyn Francis, North Platte CC

Emily Joseph, North Platte CC

Monica Brooks, Central CC

Day zchay Ion Gardner, Central CC

Emily Zvolanek, F, Southeast CC

Region IX Coach of The Year: Jeff Thurman, North Platte CC

North Platte, NE – With an invitation to Sheridan, WY to continue the Region IX tournament on the line the Knights did enough little things right to move on. It doesn’t hurt that they got a little help from McCook on the way.

The Knights knew that this would be a tough game having gone 1-1 against McCook during the season (both teams winning their respective home games) and knowing McCook would be upset after being blown out in North Platte last time they played 91-68. Complicating matters was the Knights starting center Jakub Karwowski would be unavailable after injuring his left leg in the game against Western Nebraska.

The first half started as you would expect it to with both teams coming out and throwing their best game right out of the gate. Neither team would start off with the momentum as they each would keep it close. McCook would call the first time out with 16:44 left on the clock and North Platte in the lead 6-4.

McCook would start to gain a little bit of momentum but North Platte’s talent kept them in the game. Coach O’Connor would take his first time out with 13:40 left in the first half. The Knights had the lead 11-10 and had already gone through 5 lead changes.

McCook would go on a 6-3 run and capitalize on the Knights missing their big man, consistently getting into the paint area. That would draw another time out from North Platte with 12:14 remaining and McCook on top 16-14.

The next three minutes of the game would still belong to McCook, with 9:22 left in the first half the Knights would take yet another time out as they felt the game starting to slip away. McCook had the lead 20-16. It’s at this point coach O’Connor went with a smaller lineup to try to stay in front of the speedy Indian crew.

The smaller lineup would grab back the momentum and go on a 10-5 run of their own prompting a time out from McCook with just under six minutes in the first half. North Platte in the lead 26-25.

For the rest of the first half, the Knights would clamp down defensively and start to impose their will on the game. It was the team we had seen all year long turning defense into easy layups on the other end and getting to the free throw line at will. McCook would miss a layup with about 8 seconds to go. Edgars Kaufmanis would head upcourt and bury a layup of his own at the buzzer. The end of the first half would see the Knights in control 44-37.

All the time outs taken in the first half would be a BIG BIG factor in the game later on (spoiler alert!!).

The second half would mirror the first with the Knights quickly going back to a smaller lineup to counter the speed of the Indians. McCook would take the momentum back from North Platte to start the second half. North Platte would let their guys stay out on the court and fight through the momentum shift until with 8:36 left the Knights would take a time out. McCook would be in the lead at that point 63-62.

Moments later the wheels looked like they would start coming off for McCook, Peanut Cunningham would draw a technical foul after a McCook made basket that would give the Knights a chance for a large point swing. The Knights would capitalize and use that to get things going on their side of the ball.

Neither team would ever lead this game by more than 7 points (North Platte) and with 4:00 on the clock McCook would take a time out down by 3, 72-69. North Platte’s defense was starting to get back into the game and things looked to be going the Knights way at that point.

Fast forward to the last minute of gameplay with the game tied at 82 points. McCook with possession and time ticking down. They would get it across halfcourt and immediately be trapped by the swarming defense of North Platte. McCook would take a time out with 11.8 seconds left on the clock. After conferring with the scorer’s table it was determined that McCook was out of timeouts at this point and would be assessed a technical foul.

Tim Johnson would sink both free throws giving North Platte the lead 84-82. McCook would keep possession of the ball. They would get the look they wanted but miss the layup. Courtney Murrell would snag the rebound and be fouled. He would make 1 of 2 and the Knights would hold on to take the victory 85-82.

The season comes to an end for the McCook Indians with the loss. The Knights earn the right to head to Sheridan WY for the remainder of the Region IX tournament.

The Knights will play Central Wyoming on Thursday, March 7th at 6 pm central time.

 

Scottsbluff, NE – Sports pundits are known to say that a season is a marathon and not a sprint, well last night pundits would be wrong.

The North Platte Knights travelled up to Scottsbluff for a showdown for the #1 spot in the Region IX south sub-district. The winner would take the top spot and earn an automatic bid to the Region IX tournament in Sheridan WY. The loser would then get the right to host McCook on Saturday the 1st to earn a spot in Sheridan.

The Palace at WNCC was packed headed into tip-off as the Cougars were also celebrating sophomore night, would be the last home game for 6 players from the team.

WNCC would jump out to an early lead in this one going up 6-0 before the Knights were able to get a bucket. Teams would go back and forth for a little as WNCC would slowly start to build a lead. Shots for the Knights were just not falling throughout the first half.

After about 5 minutes of play time the floodgates would open for WNCC. They would get out in transition and start hitting shots from all over the floor. The Knights didnt have an answer for the Cougar attack.

Between transition baskets and NBA length three pointers the Cougars found themselves up by double digits early in the half and would stay there throughout.

Only Tim Johnson would have any offense for the Knights going 10/10 from the FT line in the first half to lead the scoring for the Knights. He would be a big part of the momentum shift as the Knights, down by 20 with a minute left in the half would rattle off 4 quick points and get a couple big defensive stops.

The first half would end 50-34 in favor of WNCC. It should be noted that the Cougars shot an out worldly percentage from the field in the first half. They would go 19/31 (61.3%) from the field and go 9/20 (45%) from 3pt range. Those numbers are outstanding and not something one usually sees in a basketball game, at any level.

The Knights, however, would build on that momentum from the end of the half and would storm out of the gates going on a quick 9-3 run to open up the second half. That would prompt a quick time out from WNCC with the score sitting at 53-43, what was a blowout now would turn into a close game.

A combination of the Cougars coming back down to earth mixed with tough defense from the Knights would continue for much of the second half. At numerous times the Knights would get the lead down to 9 points before WNCC would go on a mini run of their own and push it back into double digits.

WNCC started to sweat as their shot was not falling while the Knights were gaining momentum. Another time out with 9:43 left on the clock by the Cougars that tried to stave off Knights momentum. At that point the score stood at 69-58.

Finally with about 7 minutes remaining the Knights would start their push. A group of Da’May Jones, Jakub Karwowski, Courtney Miller, Tim Johnson and Edgars Kaufmanis would be the magic lineup and push the lead below that 9 point barrier and further. Kaufmanis would get in a foul trouble and would be swapped out for Ilya Tyrtyshnik.

With 4:09 left in the game, Tyrtyshnik would hit a three point shot from the top of the key that would tie the game at 71-71. The Knights had done the improbable and clawed back from 20 points down to tie things up.

Another quick time out by WNCC would prove to be what they needed. The season previous the Cougars were eliminated in the 2nd round of the National Championship tournament and used that experience to close out a game at home. They would finish the game on an 11-5 run and take the victory 82-76.

Leading the way for the Knights was Tim Johnson with 23 points. Courtney Murrell would put in 16 and Karwowski would be in double digits with 10 points.

Karwowski would also snag 12 rebounds for the Knights.

WNCC carries the #1 seed and will get a first round bye. The Knights will host McCook in the first round on Saturday March 2nd. The time is still to be determined.