Third-quarter rally, late hold helps Cowgirls beat Chadron State on the road

CHADRON, Neb. --- Clinging to a two-point lead and after a missed field goal with less than five seconds left, it appeared the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls were going to have to withstand one more game-tying or winning attempt by Chadron State.
 
But NMHU's Kish Chandler anticipated the Eagle pass in the backcourt beautifully and stole the ball as the Cowgirls eventually ran the clock out for a 58-56 victory at Chicoine Center on Friday night.
 
NMHU (4-13, 2-8) rallied in the second half, thanks in large part to a dominant third quarter that saw the Cowgirls outscore Chadron State (3-13, 2-8) 14-2 in the period. NMHU trailed 36-30 at the half (and were behind by as much as nine late in the second quarter), but an Amari Terry jumper on NMHU's first possession of the half ignited a 9-0 run that was capped by a go-ahead bucket by Allyah George and a DeAvion Allen layup set up by a nice pass from George to give the Cowgirls a 39-36 advantage with 5:51 remaining in the third.
 
NMHU eventually took a 44-38 lead into the fourth quarter, but Chadron State didn't go away as it went on a 10-2 run to start the period to regain the lead at 48-46.
 
The Cowgirls trailed 53-51 with less than four minutes remaining when George scored on an assist from Terry to tie the game and Allen drained a 3-pointer at the top of the key to give NMHU a 56-53 advantage with 2:48 remaining. Chadron State answered with its own 3-pointer on its next possession as the game was tied at 56 with less than two minutes left in the game.
 
Jordyn Lewis – who led the Cowgirls with 19 points – drained a jumper at the 1:44 mark to make it 58-56 Cowgirls and neither team scored the rest of the way – sealed by Chandler's key steal in the final seconds.
 
To go along with her 19 points, Lewis had five rebounds, three assists and went 4-for-7 from 3-point range. George finished with 15 points, five rebounds and two assists while Allen and Brianna Stewart had eight points each with Allen adding a team-high seven rebounds.
 
The Cowgirls shot 44 percent (22-for-50) from the field and hit 8 of 19 3-point attempts (42.1 percent), helping make up for going 6-for-12 from the free throw line. The NMHU zone helped hold Chadron State to 36.8 percent shooting from the field (though the Eagles went 8-for-17 from 3-point range).
 
The Cowgirls return to action 7 p.m. Saturday as they travel to take on MSU Denver.