Lady Cat Basketball Drops Two Road Games

Orange City, IA – Following a decisive win on the road at Evangel, the Lady Cats traveled north to Iowa for the Northwestern College Classic. The Lady Cats were set for a couple of tough opponents in Northwestern and Dordt University.

C of O vs Northwestern College – Friday, November 8
Facing the Red Raiders of Northwestern College, the Lady Cats knew they would have their hands full. Logan Jones opened the scoring with a three and a mid-range jumper and the Lady Cats took an early lead. The Red Raiders quickly responded, and the battle was on. The teams traded baskets with Abbey Linville, Logan Jones, and Susie Moran adding to the Lady Cat total. With 3:08 remaining in the opening frame, A Moran layup gave the Lady Cats a 14-11 advantage. Another pair of Moran buckets and a layup by Keara Mattingly rounded out the first quarter scoring and the Lady Cats took a 20-14 lead into the first break.

Neither team would score in the opening two minutes of the second stanza and the Red Raiders were the first to break through. Avery Arnold and Keara Mattingly responded for the Lady Cats before a long dry spell ensued. The defense held their own, but the Red Raiders began to chip away at the lead. A Taylor Rush three at the 3:45 mark put the Lady Cats ahead 27-20 but scoring became minimal. A Logan Jones jumper with 1:42 remaining would be the final Lady Cat points before halftime and the lad was cut to 29-26 at the intermission.

Northwestern came out gunning in the third quarter and put the first nine points on the board. The Lady Cat shooting woes continued until a Taylor Rush three found the bottom of the net with 5:59 remaining in the frame. Blythe Benfield cut the gap to 35-34 with 5: 30 remaining, but Northwestern continued to attack. The Lady Cats were unable to get the offense going and trailed 43-34 with 2:42 left in the quarter. Logan Jones added a trio of buckets to close out the frame, but the Red Raiders had built a 54-40 lead after three.

The Lady Cats had a deep hole to dig out of and the offense needed to get rolling. Susie Moran and Logan Jones connected on a layup and a three to cut the gap, but the Red Raiders quickly answered. The offensive struggles continued, and Keara Mattingly would add the only bucket before a Lady Cat timeout with 5:59 remaining. Taylor Rush connected on a three with 4:31 left and the Lady Cat deficit was 65-50. The Lady Cat defense stepped up to the challenge and kept the Red Raiders in check, and a Moran layup, a pair of baskets by Keara Mattingley, and a Logan Jones three cut the gap down to 68-59, with 1:38 left to play. Allyssa Joner and Susia Moran would add the final Lady Cat points and Northwestern closed out the 71-63 win.

Logan Jones led the Lady Cat charge with 22 points while Susie Moran notched a double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds. Keara Mattingley added 10 points, Taylor Rush chipped in nine, and several Lady Cats tacked on two points each.

C of O vs Dordt University – Saturday, November 9
With a 10 am tip time for game two, the Lady Cats had little time to regroup and step on the court to face a tough Dordt University team.

Blythe Benefield opened the scoring and Dordt answered with a quick three. The defense for both teams stepped up in the early going and with nearly three minutes off the clock, a Susie Moran basket cut the Defenders’ lead to 5-4. Another Moran basket and a layup by Taylor Rush evened the score at eight apiece before both defenses took center stage. The Lady Cats were unable to generate offense, and the Defenders slowly began to pull away. A Susie Moran free throw would be the extent of the Lady Cat offense the rest of the opening frame, and the Defenders took an 18-9 advantage into the quarter break.

The offensive struggles continued into the second quarter and the Lady Cats would not score until a Susie Moran layup found the bottom of the net with 6:48 remaining in the half. Keara Mattingley followed with a basket and Blythe Benefield drained a free throw, but with 5:07 showing on the clock, the Lady Cats trailed 25-14. The Defenders continued to attack, and the Lady Cats struggled to put together a run. A Logan Jones three, another Mattingley layup, and a bucket by Allyssa Joiner would round out the Lady Cat scoring and the Defenders took a 34-21 advantage into the intermission.

Blythe Benefield opened the second half scoring with a pair of free throws and a pair of Susie Moran layups followed, but the Defenders continued to answer. Another Moran layup at the 7:19 mark cut the gap to 43-29, but the Defenders were pulling away. Layups by Benefield and Moran would be all the offense the Lady Cats could get until the 1:33 mark when Keara Mattingly connected on a pair of free throws. Avery Arnold followed with a deep three and the game went to the third quarter break with the Lady Cats trailing 61-40.

The Lady Cat had 10 minutes remaining to try and turn things around. Abbey Linville hit a free throw to start the fourth quarter scoring and buckets by Mattingley and Benefield helped the Lady Cats keep pace with the Defender. Unfortunately, keeping pace was not cutting into the sizeable deficit. A Savannah Ketchum bucket cut the gap to 68-47 and a pair of Allyssa Joiner free throws were followed by an Abbey Linville three. With 5:42 left to play, the Lady Cats trailed 75-52. An Avery Arnold three and a layup by Joiner would be the extent of the Lady Cat offense the rest of the way and the Defenders took the contest, 80-57.

Susie Moran logged another double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds and Blythe Benefield added nine points. Keara Mattingley added eight, Avery Arnold tacked on six, and Abbey Linville, Logan Jones, Taylor Rush, and Svannah Ketchum contributed four, three, two , and two respectively.

The Lady Cats will return to acting Wednesday at the University of St. Mary in Leavenworth, Kansas.