History was made in the first round of the NJCAA Division I National Tournament as the Dodge City women's basketball team topped East Georgia State 75-57 to claim the first national tournament win in school history for the program.
The win moves the Conquistadors to 27-6 on the season and moves the Conqs into the second round of the NJCAA DI National Tournament in Casper, Wyoming. The Conqs move on to take on the #2 seed Wabash Valley on Wednesday, March 27th at 8:00 pm (7:00 pm MT); the game will be televised on ESPN+.
The Conqs came out scorching hot to open the tournament as they mounted a 17-0 run after it was tied early at 3-3. That 17-0 run led to a 20-3 Conqs lead with 3:41 remaining in the first quarter and led to an early timeout by East Georgia State. Behind 67% shooting and just 18.8% shooting by East Georgia State in the first quarter saw the Conqs hold a 27-8 lead. The lead continued to blossom for the Conqs in the second stanza early as the Conqs outscored the Bobcats 13-5 early. However, it would be the hot start in the first quarter that had the Conqs in control at halftime up 45-26. The Conqs would not allow the Bobcats to make up ground in the second half continuing to shoot well and capitalize on several other aspects of the game to claim the 75-57 victory.
The Conqs shot 50% for the game and 10-20 from three-point range while holding East Georgia State to just 27.4% shooting and 1-24 from three-point range. On the board, the Conqs out-rebounded the #1 rebounding margin team in the country by six, 49-41.
Kyriana Jones for the third straight game led the Conqs in scoring posting 20 points on 7-10 shooting including 4-5 three-pointers adding five rebounds. Layla-J Cameron added 15 points on 7-11 shooting, while Paris Santacaterina scored 13 points on 5-7 shooting including 3-4 three-pointers adding seven rebounds. Tayah Morgan chipped in eight points, while Parris Atkins tallied seven points and seven rebounds.
Up next the Conqs continue their season in the second round of the NJCAA DI National Tournament as they will play #2 Wabash Valley at 8:00 pm (7:00 pm MT). (The game will be broadcast on ESPN+)
