SALINA, Kan. -- Western Nebraska Community College’s Emma Beddome rarely misses free throws and Wednesday against Monroe Community College in an elimination game, the 6-foot sophomore from Melbourne, Australia, came up big.
With WNCC holding a slim 82-81 lead with under 10 seconds to play, Beddome calmly stepped to the line and switched both charity stripes to lift the Cougars to an 84-81 win in the second day of the NJCAA national tournament in Salina, Kan. Monroe, who won the national title back in 2006, became the first team eliminated from the tournament.
“I just shot them like any other free throw and didn’t think it was a pressure free throw,” the 81 percent free throw shooter said. “We do free throws every day and I make mine, so I just thought it was another day at practice.”
The game, though, ended up closer then WNCC liked after controlling the tempo and pace of the game for the first half and much of the second.
“We played really well the first half and we knew we had to play for 40 minutes and try our hardest,” Beddome said. “We had at least a 15-point lead. We knew they were a really good free throw shooting team and we couldn’t get out on them in time and they game back on us.”
WNCC coach Dave Harnish said his team’s feistiness was the difference in the game after the Tribunes went on a 11-0 run to tie the game at 68.
“You never expect an easy win down here at the national tournament. All you hope to do is get a win,” Harnish said. “It looked easy early and we played well early. We just couldn’t knock them out and let them hang around. They then started making some shot. The biggest thing is we have the grit and toughness to stay with it and pull out a win and that is huge. I never expect anything to be easy here and you just have to be excited to get a win and move on.”
Beddome, who collected 13 points on the night, said this team perceived with the will to win against a Monroe team that nailed NBA 3-pointers all night long.
“We knew they were a 3-point shooting team, but we didn’t think they would shoot out that far and make it,” she said. “But, we also have a lot of 3-point shooters, too, and that is what saved us a lot. When it came down to crunch time, we are able to make them.”
While Monroe canned nine treys on the night, including five from Charmonigue Watt and three from Brittany Hillard, the Cougars were a little bit hotter and more accurate from behind the arc, nailing 11 of 23 for 48 percent.
Chelsea Lyles had the hot hand nailing six 3-pointers on her way to a game high 22 points. Carly Glisan and Dana Iverson tallied two treys and Beddome had one.
“The game went see-saw back and forth. We were up by 15 and then lost the lead and then went back up by five. We had more defensive mistakes, which is uncharacteristic of us.”
And it was the Cougars 3-point shots that opened up a tight game early. Glisan got things started with two early buckets as the Cougars went on a 13-0 run to open the game to offset to lead 13-4. The biggest 3-pointer, though, came from Lyles, who launched a near-half court shot that went through the hoop for a 44-31 halftime lead.
WNCC kept playing strong offensively to start the second half, talking a 53-43 lead on a Lyles trey. Monroe fought back, slicing the lead to 58-55 with about 11 minutes left, but 3-pointers by Beddome and Iverson helped push the lead back to double digits at 68-57.
That is when Monroe went on a 13-2 run to knot the game three times, the last time at 72-72 with 3:38 to play. WNCC, though, never relinquished the lead as Lyles came up with a huge block and then buried two 3-pointers to give WNCC an 80-76 lead with 41.7 seconds to play.
Monroe’s Hilliard single-handily brought the Tribunes back scoring five points to slice the lead to 82-81 with 8.8 seconds left. That was when Beddome was fouled with 6.9 seconds and made two free throws, followed by a huge defensive stand at the other end to get the win.
“Obviously it is our defense that wins games and that is what we have done all year,” Beddome said. “I thought we had good defense all night. The only thing we faulted in was their 3-point shooting and boxing out. We need to work on that. We came down here and knew it would be tough and we had to play 40 minutes.
Now we have tomorrow off. We just need to rest up and focus on Friday’s game.”
WNCC had four players in double figures. Lyles paced the team with 22 points, going 6-of-8 from the 3-point line. Beddome also had 13 points, followed by Alison Cheney with 12 and Glisan with 10.
Monroe was led by Hilliard and Watt with 19 points each, followed by Allyssa Lane with 16.
The Cougars were out-rebounded for a second straight day 50-40, as Jenna Colwell led the way with six boards.
WNCC, however, out-shot the Tribunes in every category, making 45 percent of their shots compared to 40 for Monroe. The Cougars also got 27 points from their bench compared to just 19 for Monroe.
The Cougars have a day off and will face another elimination game Friday at 11 a.m. against the winner of the Walters State and Lake Region game that will be played Thursday.
“The day off will help after playing two tough games against Gulf Coast and Monroe, who won the national championship two years ago,” Harnish said. “For two straight days of full court pressing, not only mentally but physically, we need a days rest to come back and play on Friday.”
Monroe 31 50 -- 81
WNCC 44 40 -- 84
MONROE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Kristina Rosario 4, Natasha Smalls 4, Charmonique Watt 19, Allyssa Lane 16, Brittany Hilliard 19, Caila Desroches 8, Keona Jones 8, Kim Brown 3.
WESTERN NEBRASKA CC
Emma Beddome 13, Jenna Colwell 6, Tawny Drexler 4, Chelsea Lyles 22, Alison Cheney 12, Shaquilah Davis 6, Dana Iverson 8, Carly Glisan 10, Cheri Palmer 3.
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