The 10th ranked North Central Missouri College women's basketball team showed plenty of offensive balance but came up short against a tough 3rd ranked Kirkwood Community College squad, falling 70-51 at home Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore Honor Mannings had a strong start to the season, leading the Pirates with 14 points on an efficient 6-for-8 shooting from the field while also adding a steal. Liz Oliver provided a steady presence in the paint, scoring 11 points and connecting on five of six free throw attempts.
Sidney Aeschliman and Tailer Morrison each added nine points, with Aeschliman going 3-for-6 from the floor and grabbing three rebounds, while Morrison shot 50 percent and chipped in a pair of boards.
On the defensive end, Keylie Beane filled up the stat sheet, collecting five rebounds and dishing out a team-high four assists to go along with solid perimeter defense. Lexi Burns contributed six rebounds and a pair of free throws off the bench, and Addilyn Henke pulled down five boards and added a steal.
As a team, NCMC shot 37.8% from the field and 71.4% from the free throw line, winning the battle on the glass 36–32 against the Eagles. However, turnovers proved costly for the Lady Pirates, as Kirkwood capitalized on transition opportunities.
The game marked the beginning of a new era in NCMC women's basketball, now headed by by Head Coach Joe McKinstry and Assistant Coach Arielle Houston. In postgame comments, McKinstry detailed how he knew going against the perennial power Kirkwood CC would be a tough challenge and that he was proud of his girls for the fight they exhibited in the game. McKinstry chalked up some shooting woes to the first game jitters and knows his team will come back strong in future games.
NCMC will look to bounce back in their next matchup when they host Graceland University JV on Monday night in the Ketcham Community Center. Tipoff for that game is set for 6:00pm.
