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Northeast women defeat Reivers, advance to District K championship

Northeast women defeat Reivers, advance to District K championship

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA - The Northeast Community College women's basketball team will compete for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) District K Championship later this week after defeating Iowa Western Community College in the Region XI Championship here Saturday. The Hawks won the game 72-55.

Iowa Western had not lost a game since December 2 against Kirkwood Community College.

The Hawks fell behind the Reivers 14-4 early on but were able to cut the deficit to 14-11 by the end of the first quarter. Sierra Bell hit a jumper at the end of the second quarter to give the Hawks a 35-29 lead heading into halftime.

Matt Svehla, Hawks coach, said he was proud of how his team battled.

"We talked at the half about playing a 40-minute game, and our third quarter was pretty solid," he said. "We executed decently and we shot the ball well, but our defense was probably the key. Other than the first quarter, we made them really work for shots."

Svehla said that although the Hawks had a weak 39-percent free throw percentage in the fourth quarter, they had a substantial lead by that point.

Sierra Bell led Northeast in scoring with 14 points and also had seven rebounds and four assists. Judit Valls tallied 14 points and seven rebounds, while Jerrica Neal had 11 points and three rebounds.

"This was a great win, and to do this on (Iowa Western's) floor is not an easy thing to do. We had a good fan following, and our players and coaches really appreciate their support."

Northeast (25-4) will host Moberly Area Community College (MO) on Friday, March 9, for the District K Championship. Moberly is currently ranked fourth in the NJCAA Division I poll. Game time is 6 p.m. at the Cox Activities Center on the Norfolk campus.

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