The NCMC Lady Pirates have taken two tough losses on their trip down to Miami, FL. However, the trip has still been a success because the girls have gotten to play some top notch competition and have grown from it as a team.
In the opener on Friday, Miami Dade College got the win 94-85. Kendey Eaton led the way with 32 points. Four total Lady Pirates scored in double digits with McKinley Hurley putting in 12 and Asia Young and Sarah Lamp each adding 10. Kelly Warford did a nice job on the boards with 10 rebounds. "We were completely outsized," commented Coach Croy. "Miami Dade started three girls that were 6 foot tall. We came out and played very scrappy and just never gave up. We actually went ahead by a point early in the 4th quarter but had some crucial turnovers and gave up a couple offensive boards to give them the edge. I was proud of our girls. They represented NCMC well."
In the Saturday game against Broward College, it was another hard fought loss. The Lady Pirates came up on the short end of an 83-71 final score to a Broward team that is currently first in Florida's Southern Conference. Lamp and Eaton each totaled 21 points to lead the way while Hurley and Young each chipped in 10 points.
Coach Croy was very impressed with her team's effort and believes this trip will be a good springboard into the crucial games after the holiday break. "I really thought our girls came down here and gave everything they had. We played against some great players and we held our own. We had the games within reach but just had some crucial turnovers and on a couple of possessions we didn't finish around the rim. We are now off for a few weeks and will get back to practice on January 2nd," remarked Croy.