Nighthawks fall on sophomore night
The National Park College women’s basketball team was unable to counter a late run from Crowder College Wednesday in a 71-60 home loss on sophomore night.
The team’s five sophomores were honored before the game inside The Kettle at the NPC Wellness Center. The college added basketball as a club sport in 2017-18 before joining the National Junior College Athletic Association this academic year.
Bailey Womack and Kayla Sims, both of Fountain Lake, and Faith Bratton, of Jessieville, were among the program’s first signees in 2017. Laney Wallace, of Malvern, transferred to National Park College in the middle of the first season and Hailee Crosby, of Mountain Pine, transferred in this season from Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia.
Crowder (11-13) took a 52-49 lead by the start of the fourth quarter after the game was knotted, 36-all, at halftime. The Roughriders compete in Region 16 of Division I in the NJCAA. National Park College is a member of Region 2 of Division II.
The Nighthawks (3-11) ran out of gas in the fourth quarter and were outscored, 19-11, for their sixth consecutive loss. They were 3-5 after a pair of wins on either side of the holiday
break.
Bratton had 12 points in the first quarter as the Nighthawks capitalized on a number of Roughrider turnovers early. They led, 23-13, after holding the visiting team to just two field goals in the game’s first
10 minutes.
Crowder surged forward in the second quarter with five
3-pointers. A pair of 3-pointers from Sims helped the Nighthawks enter halftime with a tie score.
Sophomore forward Maegan Bandimere led all scorers with 32 points and 11 rebounds in 37 minutes. Fellow sophomores Alex Vogt and Aubrie Ayers added 13 points and nine rebounds and eight points and six rebounds, respectively, while freshman Maia Wright had a game-high 13 rebounds with six points.
Bratton led the Nighthawks with 25 points. Crosby added
14 points. Wednesday’s game was the last scheduled home date for National Park College after a previously scheduled game with Champion Christian College on Feb. 18 was canceled. The Nighthawks are off until Feb. 16 when they begin with the first of four road games to end the season.
They will travel to Broken Arrow, Okla., to face Rhema Bible Training College. The final game of the season is scheduled for Feb. 28 against conference opponent Southern Arkansas University Tech
(9-5, 1-1).
National Park College and SAU Tech are ineligible for postseason competition as first-year members of the NJCAA, but players are eligible for awards. Arkansas State University Mid-South canceled the second half of the season due to a lack of eligible players.
Region 2 will be represented by North Arkansas College
(20-4, 3-0) at the NJCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship tournament, which will again be held in Harrison. The Pioneers are ranked No. 6 in the country in the NJCAA’s Division II.