Ryan shines as Cardinal women rally past Western Wyoming

CASPER, Wyo. — Trailing by 14 points at halftime, North Idaho College started to press, but in a good way.

Deniece Ryan, a freshman guard from Albuquerque, had 21 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Cardinals, who rallied past Western Wyoming 75-70 in the Casper College Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday.

NIC, which trailed by 16 with 6:55 remaining in the first half, outscored Western Wyoming 53-36 in the second half after switching to a smaller lineup and running a full-court press.

"With our initial starting lineup, they had an advantage on us," NIC assistant coach Louie Vargas said. "We switched to more of a perimeter offense and were able to get some more paint touches. Deniece was able to create some gaps and she just made some great decisions, whether it was finding her teammates or making shots."

Maddie Williamson, a freshman from Malta, Mont., had 15 points and six rebounds for NIC (4-5).

NIC will visit Northwest College of Powell, Wyo., on Thursday.

Kayde Strauss had 18 points, four rebounds and four assists for Western Wyoming (2-5) of Rock Springs, Wyo.

NORTH IDAHO

Deniece Ryan 9-14 2-3 21, Maddie Williamson 7-13 0-0 15, Aaliyah Clemons 0-1 1-2 1, Addie Kiefer 3-5 5-6 11, Kendall Pickford 2-11 0-2 6, Anna Serret 2-4 0-0 6, Diana Morales 3-7 2-2 8, Iratxe Amorrortu 3-8 0-0 7, Faye Davis 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-64 10-15 75.

WESTERN WYOMING

Kayde Strauss 6-15 5-9 18, Sierra Eddie 5-15 0-0 14, Ashley Christensen 5-8 3-3 13, Kayla Thornton 2-3 7-10 11, Tamryn Blom 3-15 5-6 11, Nyah Vermeulen 0-1 0-0 0, Anja Ekstrom 0-2 1-2 1, AnDee VanDyke 0-1 2-2 2, Taylor Billman 0-1 0-0 0, Kornia Bubovac Bjornstedt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-62 23-32 70.

North Idaho    8    14    30    23    —    75

Western Wyo.    18    16    24    12    —    70

3-point goals — NIC 7-24 (Ryan 1-3, Williamson 1-5, Clemons 0-1, Pickford 2-10, Serret 2-4, Amorrortu 1-2), WWCC 5-28 (Strauss 1-7, Eddie 4-14, Christensen 0-1, Blom 0-4, Ekstrom 0-1). Rebounds — NIC 42 (Williamson 6), WWCC 34 (Blom 13). Assists — NIC 10 (Ryan 4), WWCC 11 (Strauss 4). Team fouls — NIC 23, WWCC 15. Fouled out — Eddie.

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