Runnin' Lopes Grind Out Overtime Road Win at McCook

The Runnin' Lopes showed their toughness Tuesday night, battling through four quarters and overtime to earn a hard-fought 52–45 road win over McCook Community College.

McCook held a one-point edge after the first quarter, but the Lopes responded to take a narrow 23–22 lead into halftime. Neither team gave ground in the second half, and after four quarters of back-and-forth basketball, the game headed to overtime tied at 42. 

That's when the Lopes took over.

Lamar CC outscored McCook 10–3 in the extra period to seal the win and complete a season sweep of McCook. 

Head Coach Chris Godfrey was ecstatic after the close victory:

"That was an incredibly emotional win for us. As a team, we're working through so much adversity right now. There were a lot of opportunities for us to fold tonight and we just didn't do it. Even though we've had some big wins this year over ranked teams, this is right up there with any of them in terms of feeling good after the final buzzer."  

Ana Zesati led the Lopes with 22 points and 5 rebounds, while Aaliyah Clarke flirted with a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. Alexis Halley made it three Lopes in double-figures, as she added 10 points, including a three-pointer in overtime that put the Lopes up for good. 

Another notable performance took place in the second quarter, when Lopes volleyball player Chantzee Elliott checked in for the first time as a basketball player, securing a rebound and earning a trip to the foul line where she scored her first career point right before the half.  

The win over McCook moves the Lopes to 13-6 overall and 5-2 in the South Sub-Region. At the halfway point of the schedule, the Lopes still control their own destiny for at least a share of the sub-region championship.