MADISON REIBER
reibermj@lopers.unk.edu
The magical season for UNK womens basketball continued at home against Central Oklahoma and Newman. The Lopers held on to beat the Bronchos 75-69 and the Jets 59-46.
UNK displayed incredible perserverance in the final moments of the game vs UCO.
“This was a big game for us,” said coach Carrie Eighmey. “UCO is a really good team. They have had some good wins in the league, so this was an important win for us.”
At halftime, the Lopers found themselves trailing by three. It didn’t discourage them as they hung tough in the second half.
There were several lead changes in the 4th quarter, accumulating with the score being tied at 69-69 with 56 seconds left to play.
Hailey Simental (Pueblo West, Colorado) used aggressive defensive to come up with a huge steal. She ended up getting to the free throw line, where she knocked down critical points.
“I liked how our team played,” Eighmey said. “I thought we played with a lot of poise. We went through some adversity and we were able to find our way through that. We had some people step up off the bench when we needed them. This is a great team win.”
Major contributors in the game were Simental who lead the Lopers with 19 points and freshman Trinity Law (Brandon, South Dakota) who had not seen the floor since mid-January due to injury. In nine minutes, she scored 11 points.
Next up, UNK hosted Newman. Maegan Holt (Council Bluffs, Iowa) got the Lopers up by five at the end first with eight points.
UNK had its highest scoring quarter of the game in the second. They scored 19 points to take a commanding 33-17 lead at halftime.
The momentum continued in the third, as the Lopers got up by as many as 31 points. Newman did mount a late come back, but in the end it wasn’t enough.
“Holding any team to 46 points gives us a great chance to win the game,” said Carlson. “Our team has a strong will to win, and we always work together to get better every day.”
Carlson (Elkhorn, Nebraska) clocked in 19 points, five rebounds and a 33% field goal percentage for UNK.
“Newman was a good team that tried to use full court pressure and a two-three zone to throw off our offensive rhythm,” Carlson said. “We didn’t have the best shooting night, but we still found a way to grind out a win.”
Holt had a great night coming in second on the leaderboard with 15 points. Together this powerful duo had 34 of UNK’s 59 points.
Klaire Kirsch (Rapid City, South Dakota) hit the boards hard with 12 rebounds and Kelsey Sanger (Crofton, Nebraska) had nine points and two steals.
UNK (23-2) will play against Lincoln (3-19) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb 13.
