The NMHU Cowgirls finish the season on a positive note winning their final game of the season at in state conference rival WNMU 57-54. The Cowgirls led for the majority of the game with the Mustangs taking the lead in the final three minutes of the game. But the Cowgirls hung in there and with a key three point shot from
Alyssa Lopez regained the lead and never looked back emerging in the end with the three point victory. The Cowgirls had two players in double-double figures in the game. With their win over WNMU the Cowgirls, lead by Head Coach Tiffany Darling, improve their record in the RMAC to 9-13 and 14-16 in overall play this season.
Alyssa Lopez was the leading scorer for the Cowgirls with 18 points in the victory shooting a perfect 3-3 from three point range. She shot 7-13 from the field for an outstanding 54% and added five rebounds and two steals in her 32 minutes of playing time.
China Smith had yet another double-double performance scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for the Cowgirls in 21 minutes of playing time before fouling out of the game. Smith shot 4-7 from field goal range and had two steals and an assist to add to her eighth double-double of the season.
Domonique Rivera scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to secure her second double-double of the season. Rivera shot 4-9 from the field and a perfect 2-2 from the free throw line adding two assists to the Cowgirls efforts in her 26 minutes on the court.
The Cowgirls started the game looking for the win early on. They took the lead and despite WNMU's best efforts they hung on leading by as much as seven in the first half with 6:09 to go in the half. The Mustangs fought back dropping the lead to two but the Cowgirls answered extending their lead to seven points again with 3:13 left in the half. WNMU continued to fight back and again closed to within two points with the score at 22-20 going into the locker rooms for half time.
The Mustangs scored first after the break to tie up the game and took the lead by one after a free throw shot from Julie Tani. A quick three pointer gave the Mustang's their biggest lead of the night going up by four with 19:20 left in the game. The Cowgirls fought back and a jump shot from
China Smith gave them the one point lead with 17:14 left to play. The Cowgirls held off the Mustang's assaults but WNMU again regained the lead by two at the 12:34 mark. The Cowgirl's
Alyssa Lopez answered immediately making one of her three point shots to get the lead back by one point. The Cowgirls extended their lead to five with 8:17 left in the game on a jump shot by
Trish Simpson. But the Mustangs would not give up and regained the lead with 5:21 on the clock. WNMU held their lead for more than three minutes but saw it shrink to one before another three pointer by
Alyssa Lopez put the Cowgirls back on top by two points with only 1:36 remaining. The Cowgirls held on, despite the best efforts of the Mustangs down the stretch, with
Alyssa Lopez grabbing the last rebound to win their final game of the season with the score 57-54.
The Cowgirls finish the seasons tied for eighth place in the RMAC but were just short of making the post season as Western State College holds the tie breaker. The Cowgirls ended their season on a high note with the victory and continue the programs upswing by improving their record this season to 9-13 in the RMAC and 14-16 overall. As a team the Cowgirls finished the season in fourth place in the RMAC for offensive rebounds averaging 13.9 per game. They were also in fifth place in the conference in steals for the year with an 8.8 per game average.
The Cowgirls had some good individual performances this season in the conference. The team saw
Briana Gholston finish 16th in the RMAC with 358 points and 11.9 points per game average.
Whitley Coca would finish 19th in the RMAC with 354 points and 11.8 points per game.
China Smith finished her season averaging 6.9 rebounds per game good enough for tenth place in the RMAC.
Whitley Coca led the RMAC in playing time with 1,062 total minutes and an impressive 35.4 minutes per game average. Several Cowgirls had multiple double-double game performances this season.
China Smith led the Cowgirls in double-doubles with eight,
Whitley Coca had four, and both
Briana Gholston and
Domonique Rivera would end up with two double-doubles on the season.
The NMHU women's basketball team has ended the season, improving from last year and they will lose only one senior,
Briana Gholston who completed an impressive four years playing for the Cowgirls. The Cowgirls will look to continue this trend next season in the RMAC under the guidance of Head Coach Tiffany Darling.
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GO COWGIRLS!!!
