11/8/14 • By The Telegram Staff
STERLING, Colo. -- The Raiders went 1-1 in the Northeastern Junior College Classic over the weekend.
The Central Community College women's basketball team defeated the Adams State JV 83-75 Friday, before dropping its first game of the year 85-80 to Casper Community College Saturday in Sterling, Colorado.
In Friday's contest, the Raiders fell behind the Adams State JV by halftime, 38-34.
"After a long bus ride, we came out a little sluggish," Central head coach Mike Kroupa said. "In the second half, we picked up the intensity and played pretty strong."
The Raiders outscored Adams State 49-37 in the second half to take the 83-75 win.
Defense got the all-around game going for the Raiders, which was a big reason for the second-half turnaround, according to Kroupa.
"In the second half, we forced a few turnovers that got our offense rolling," he said. "We shot over 47 percent. Once we got rolling, that started moving everything else."
Adrianna Beck scored 25 points and hit five 3-pointers in six attempts.
"She was able to get open," Kroupa said. "Some of her threes were pretty deep. She was feeling it, so we let her fire away."
Paige Muhammad scored 16 points, while Montrese Weller added 14 points, and Shananthia Bryant had 11 points for the Raiders.
On Saturday, it was a different story.
Not only did Central drop its first game of the season, but the Raiders blew a 13-point first-half lead.
"It was disappointing because we were up big," Kroupa said. "Casper made adjustments and I didn't adjust very well. If we would have rebounded a little better, I think we would have been successful on the scoreboard."
The Raiders jumped ahead to a 47-34 lead by halftime.
Casper battled back and outscored the Raiders 51-33 in the second half.
"In the second half, defensively, we were in 1-3-1 and we should have been in man," Kroupa said. "They hit a few shots and caught fire. Offensively, we played stagnant."
Muhammad scored a team-high 20 points in Saturday's game against Casper, while Beck added 17 points, and Weller had 15 points.
Central hosts the York College JV Monday.
Friday at Sterling, Colorado
Game 1
Adams State JV 38 37 - 75
Central (3-1) 34 49 - 83
* Central - Adrianna Beck 25, LaShonda Brewer 4, Shananthia Bryant 11, Kelsey Faherty 3, Paige Higginbotham 2, Kami Johnson 4, Paige Muhammad 16, McKenna Rossmeier 4, Montrese Weller 14.
* 3-point field goals - Central 7 (Beck 5, Faherty 1, Muhammad 1).
Saturday at Sterling, Colorado
Game 2
Central 47 33 - 80
Casper CC 34 51 - 85
* Central - Beck 17, Muhammad 20, Faherty 1, Higginbotham 4, Lana'e Washington-Carson 2, Bryant 5, Rossmeier 14, Weller 15, Brewer 2.
* 3-point field goals - Central 8 (Beck 3, Weller 3, Muhammad 1, Rossmeier 1).