The Central Community College women's basketball team lost to North Platte Community College, 64-57, in the first round of the Region 9 tournament on Wednesday night at the Raider Fieldhouse.

The Raiders opened the game with a 19-16 advantage at the end of the first period before being held to seven points in the second quarter. The Knights held a 31-26 lead at the half. In the third quarter, the Raiders outscored the Knights, 21-10, and led 47-41. In the final stanza, it was almost the exact opposite as the Knights outscored the Raiders, 23-10, to post the seven-point win. North Platte will meet Southeast Community College for the Region 9 title on Saturday.

"I thought this game was game of runs," said CCC head coach Kasi Stoltz. "We fought hard the whole game, but they just had too many points in the paint, and we struggled against their pressure a little bit.

Nikie Nelson led CCC in double-digit scoring with 18 points while Amy Mitchell scored 16 points. Madisen Jelinek finished with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Though the Raiders finished the season below .500 at 14-15, Stoltz had high praise for her team.

"This group gave it their all and I couldn't ask for a better group to coach," Stoltz said.