Red-hot Pirates topple T-Birds, 70-55

INDEPENDENCE — A sluggish second quarter proved to be the difference in the Cloud County Thunderbirds’ 70-55 Jayhawk Conference East Division loss to Independence Community College Saturday afternoon.
Cloud County led Independence 15-13 after one quarter of play in its final road game of the regular season.
Independence, knocking down 10 of 15 field goal attempts, outscored the T-Birds 28-15 in the second period to go up 41-30 at halftime.
Cloud County would get no closer than seven points in the second half as the Pirates posted their eighth consecutive win.
“Independence is a tough matchup for us because of its size and strength inside,” Cloud County coach Brett Erkenbrack said, “We didn’t play terrible, but we didn’t play well enough to beat a good conference opponent and hot Independence team on its home floor.”
Cloud County will finish up its regular season by hosting Neosho County Community College on Wednesday night.
The T-Birds, 16-12 overall, are 9-10 and in fourth place in the Jayhawk East.
Butler Community College leads the conference at 15-3. Cowley College is second (13-5) and Independence is third.
The top four teams host a first-round game in the Region 6 Tournament.
Cloud County trailed Independence 11-7 in the first quarter, but went on an 8-2 run to go up 15-13.
Jessica Goodluck scored the first two points of the second period to pull Independence even at 15-15.
A three-point basket by chase Siedlik put Cloud County on top 18-15.
The Pirates scored the next seven points, and led 22-18.
Baskets by Scout Frame and Cassidy Haufler tied the game at 22-22.
Hampered by turnovers, the T-Birds went 3:30 without scoring as Independence tossed in nine unanswered points to build a 31-22 advantage.
Siedlik halted the spurt with a three-point basket that made it 31-25 with 3:11 to play in the first half. She finished with 12 points.
After falling behind by as many as 11 points, 36-25, the T-Birds closed the gap to 38-30 on a pair of free throws by Siedlik.
A three-point basket by Macie Price, her only points of the game, put the Pirates on top 41-30 at halftime.
Independence would go up by as many as 13 points early in the third quarter, but five straight points by Lydia Ostensen pulled Cloud County within eight points, 45-37.
The T-Birds would score just three points over the final 5:13 of the period, as the Pirates tossed in 12 to go up 57-40.
A three-point basket by Emmiley Hendrixson and a layup by Ostensen got Cloud County within 12 points, 57-45.
That is a close as the T-Birds would get the rest of the way.
Frame matched Siedlik with 12 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Haufler scored finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
“I thought for the most part that Scout and Cassidy did a nice job battling inside,” Erkenbrack said, “Independence is very big. They have a lot of big bodies they rotate inside. It’s a tough matchup for us, but Scout and Cassidy gave us some good production.”
Ostensen also scored 11 points.
Mychaell Gray led four Independence players in double figures with 19 points.
Kierra Crockett scored 11. Victoria Mikkelsen and Logan Collyer added 10 points each.