T-Birds use late run to down Coffeyville

COFFEYVILLE — Scoring the final 10 points of the game, the Cloud County Community College Thunderbirds snapped a three-game losing streak and completed the regular season sweep of the Coffeyville Community College Red Ravens by posting a 72-63 Jayhawk Conference win Monday night.
On the road for the second time in three days, the T-Birds led Coffeyville by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter.
The Red Ravens would rally to tie the game at 63-63 when Faith Simpson made two free throws with 2:06 remaining in the game.
Cloud County, starting with a three-point shot by Te Araroa Sopoaga, would score 10 straight points in the final 1:43 to pull out the win over Coffeyville.
“I think it is a great win, and hopefully we learned a little something about how much easier the game is when we don’t turn it over 30 times,” Cloud County coach Brett Erkenbrack said. “The fundamentals of the game don’t really change that much and the recipe for success doesn’t change that much. You have got to play hard, take care of the ball, defend and hit throws and we did most of those things pretty well.”
Cloud County, now 12-15 overall and 8-13 in the Jayhawk Conference, took a 48-42 lead into the fourth quarter of the game and quickly extended it to 51-42 when Kardae Gales hit a three-point shot.
Coffeyville, 15-10 overall and 9-10 in the conference, would pull to within six points on a pair of occasions.
Cloud County was up 63-55 when the Red Ravens got back-to-back threes by Dariauna Carter and Paige Scott and then two free throws by Simpson to pull even at 63-63.
Sopoaga, who is shooting just 22 percent from three-point range, connected on a three to put the T-Birds on top to stay, 66-63.
“That was a huge shot,” Erkenbrack said. “In a lot of ways that was kind of the game because they had fought back to tie it and it seemed like they had the momentum and then she hit that three.”
Simpson, the leading scorer for Coffeyville, missed a jumper and the T-Birds got the rebound.
Cloud County ran the clock down before a shot by Kennedy Becker would fall. Rori Cox grabbed an offensive rebound, but her putback attempt didn’t drop.
Kay Hauata Phillips pulled down another offensive board and scored to give the T-Birds a 68-63 cushion with 57 seconds remaining.
Kennedy Roach missed on a three-point attempt for Coffeyville and Cloud County came away with the ball.
The T-Birds then hit five of six free throws over the final 43 seconds to secure the win.
Sopoaga finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists, seven blocked shots and five steals in the game.
“We had a great individual effort from Te Araroa Sopoaga. She was outstanding,” Erkenbrack said.
Paula Puzule scored 14 points for the T-Birds.
Cox added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Phillips and Becker chipped in 10 points each.
Becker also grabbed nine rebounds.
Simpson led Coffeyville with 17 points. Carter scored 16 and Scott had 11.
Cloud County scored the first five points of the game and never trailed in the first half.
The T-Birds, who led by as many as nine points, were up 31-28 at halftime.
It was a 33-28 Cloud County lead when a quick 6-0 spurt gave Coffeyville its only lead, 34-33.
The game was tied at 40-40 when the T-Birds outscored the Red Ravens 8-2 over the final 3:24 of the quarter to go on top 48-42.
Cloud County got up by as many as nine points in the final period before Coffeyville battled back to tie the game.
The T-Birds play a third game in five days when they host Garden City Community College tonight.