Pioneers 56... Central Wyoming 48
Jessica Tomkins (Melbourne, Australia) had a big game with 17 points (8-11 FG, 1-2 FT) and 15 rebounds as the Pioneers took control in the 3rd quarter outscoring the Rustlers 17-11 in the stanza to break open a close game and walk out of Riverton, WY with a 56-48 victory in the last non-conference game of the season.
Catalina de Giorgo (Buenos Aires, Argentina) helped out with 10 points (4-9 FG, 0-1 3's, 2-4 FT) and 6 rebounds while fellow Buenos Aires native Julia Paoletta had 10 assists as the Pioneers moved to 5-11 on the season.
Melanie Garcia led the Rustlers with 15 points (4-10 FG, 3-6 3's, 4-7 3's) off the bench and Kalista Niu added 11 points (3-10 FG, 0-2 3's, 5-6 FT) and 6 rebounds.
Inside the Box Score
- There were 5 ties and 6 lead changes in the game.
- The Pioneers led 23-20 at halftime.
- MCC had 24 turnovers and CWC had 21.
- The Pioneers shot 23-56 (41%) from the field and 5-20 (25%) from 3-point range. They hit only 5-11 FT's.
- The Rustlers hit only 15-54 from the field (28%) and 5-17 (29%). They hit 13-17 (77%) from the free throw line.
- The Pioneers domintated the boards with a 46-30 advantage. 11 of those rebounds were offensive and the Rustlers had 5 offensive boards.
The Pioneers start the 2nd round of conference play on Thursday, January 12th at home against Dawson at 5:30 PM.