Ligia Thortvedt attempts a jumper during the fourth quarter against Otero Junior College on Saturday afternoon. (Skylar Evans, North Platte Community College)
North Platte, Neb. – The North Platte women’s basketball team attempted to use some home court magic to come from behind in the final seconds, but ultimately came up just short in a 67–64 loss to Otero Junior College on Saturday afternoon.
Ligia Thortvedt led the Knights offensively with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, while Kyenna Jackson controlled the glass with a team-high eight rebounds.
“We just didn’t make the necessary plays on the offensive end to get the win,” head coach Jeff Thurman said. “I’m proud of our effort in the final two minutes. We fought, got stops and put ourselves in a position to force overtime, but the shots just didn’t fall.”
The game opened as a back-and-forth battle before Jackson sparked a 6-0 North Platte run with an old-fashioned three-point play. Otero responded with a 10-2 surge to close the first quarter and take a four-point lead.
North Platte trimmed the deficit to one after Reece Yahn drove to the basket for a layup, but Otero again created separation with another scoring run. The Knights found their rhythm late in the second quarter, closing the half on a seven-point run to trail 26-23 at the break.
Otero extended its advantage in the third quarter as they began to heat up from the perimeter, outscoring North Platte by six to build momentum heading into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, the Knights made one last push, opening with a 10-0 run to cut the lead to four. Otero answered to rebuild a double-digit cushion, but North Platte refused to fold, trimming the deficit to three in the closing seconds before narrowly missing a chance to force overtime as time expired.
“We need to regroup and get back to work,” Thurman said. “We have two days of practice to prepare for a solid Southeast team.”
North Platte (4-13) returns to Region 9 play on Wednesday against Southeast Community College. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. inside the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.
