Lubbock, TX - With neither Dodge City Community College nor New Mexico Junior College shooting particularly well from the field throughout their opening-round game in the NJCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championships, the door opened up for someone – anyone – to step up.
Danna Grenald decided to walk right through that door.
Grenald scored all but two of her 14 points in the second half, including six points in a decisive 11-0 run late in the third quarter, and No. 20 seed New Mexico Junior College pulled away from 13th-seed Dodge City Community College for a 48-38 victory Wednesday night at the Rip Griffin Center.
"It was tough to not be able to help my team in the first half because I got into foul trouble," Grenald said. "I knew I had to step up and help my team get the win."
Sandra Magolico, who was essentially the only offense for the Lady Thunderbirds (26-5) in the first half, added a game-high 18 points for NMJC, which advances to the second round on Friday to face No. 4 seed College of Southern Idaho at 1 p.m.
Grenald hit two free throws, a layup and got a putback on an offensive rebound as part of a run that erased a 27-23 NMJC deficit and gave the Lady Thunderbirds a 34-28 lead going into the fourth quarter. Grenald and Magolico then combined for four points to open the fourth quarter and give NMJC a lead that would not be challenged for the rest of the game.
Their combined effort helped make up for a somewhat rough night shooting. NMJC shot just 28.6 percent (16 of 53) from the field but was compensated by outrebounding Dodge City (29-4) 52-37 and forcing 19 Conquistadors turnovers.
By contrast, Dodge City shot just 30.2 percent (16 of 53), starting with a 2-for-15 first quarter.
"It was a dogfight," said NMJC head coach Austin Mefford, whose team came into the tournament ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense at 50.2 points per game. "We've talked about all year that we are one of the best defensive teams in the country, and we won the game tonight with our defense, what it really comes down to. Anytime you can hold them to 38 points … it's a good night. Offensively, we have some work to do but we made enough plays to win."
Leah Mufua led Dodge City with 10 points before fouling out. Bree Stephens and Jada Burton added eight points apiece.
The game was an offensive slog from the start – for both teams. Neither team shot higher than 29 percent from the field in the first two quarters, and what helped give NMJC the lead was its ability to convert from the free-throw line. The Thunderbirds were 4 of 6 from the stripe while Dodge City was just 1 of 5 to go with a horrible shooting night, hitting just 24.1 percent (7 of 29) from the field.
Magolico was the difference for NMJC in the first half with 10 points and four rebounds, and she helped the Lady Thunderbirds to a 25-21 rebounding advantage that resulted in six second-chance points. NMJC's defense also forced 11 Dodge City turnovers.
Magolico scored six of her points during an 8-0 run early in the game that put NMJC up 10-5. With neither team playing well offensively, the Lady Thunderbirds were able to keep that lead the rest of the half, extending it to 19-12 with 3:38 to play in the second after a 6-0 run that included a Duda Raimundo 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Dodge City, which played better in the second quarter and shot over 35 percent from the field in the period, was led by six points from Leah Mufua.
