Trojan Women move on to region quarterfinal

The Colby Community College women's basketball team advanced to the Region VI quarterfinal game after earning a 66-63 overtime road win at Independence Community College Wednesday night. The Trojans entered the playoffs as the No. 12 seed while the Lady Pirates were the five-seed.

The win is the program's first in the postseason since 2005. It also helps soften a Jan. 11 loss in which Colby fell 73-51 to Independence in the same gym. The Trojans move their record to 19-12 on the season, while Independence finishes at 17-11.

Colby was on top for most of the game and led by as many as 10 points early, but Independence ended the first half on a 6-0 run to close the margin to 25-21 at intermission.

CCC maintained slim leads in the second half which set up the dramatic final minute of regulation. With the Trojans clinging to a 53-50 advantage, the Lady Pirates' Kaitlyn Rasmussen drained a 3-pointer from the left wing with eight seconds left to tie the game and force overtime.

In the extra frame, both teams traded baskets until a Deairah Mays drive in the lane gave Indy the lead at 61-59 with a minute left. As they did throughout the contest, the Trojans methodically ran their offense until Kiara Knight knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner that put them up 62-61 at the 43-second mark. Aerihna Afoa went on to hit four of six from the line in the final seconds to close out the game.

"I'm extremely proud of these young ladies," said Head Coach Antwain Scales in a post-game interview on Open Spaces Sports. "Everybody counted us out because we came here and lost by 22 points last time."

Two Trojans had double-doubles. Nyrobi Pillers posted 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Afiya Vincent added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Afoa had a team-high 20 points.

Brittany Reeves led Independence with 29 points and 14 rebounds, and Maisa Marcal tallied 14 points.

Colby will take on Seward County in a 7 p.m. tip on Saturday at Dodge City's United Wireless Arena. The game will be streamed on the KJCCC Sports Network. The audio broadcast can be heard on Open Spaces Sports.