Northeast women roll past Ellsworth on Wednesday night

NORFOLK, Neb. – The Northeast Community College women's basketball team shot a blistering 41 percent from the field on Wednesday night, toppling Ellsworth Community College 88-50 at the Cox Activities Center in Norfolk.

The Hawks (1-0, 1-0 ICCAC) posted a 26-point effort in the third quarter to keep the Panthers off balance, before adding 24 more points in the final quarter. Breanna Stouffer (David City, Neb.) got things rolling in the third quarter, sinking a 3-pointer to give the Hawks a 41-26 edge. Stouffer later accounted for five-straight points in an 18-second span. Patricija Peric (Zagreb, Croatia) made her presence known in the third, hitting a 3-pointer to put the Hawks up by 19 points. Ashley Hassett (Hershey, Neb.) later connected on two layups to push the lead to 25 points.

Peric continued her second-half dominance in the fourth quarter, hitting two layups to give Northeast a 76-46 advantage. Stouffer also hit a 3-pointer to put the game of reach for good with five minutes to play in the game.

The Hawks quickly rushed out to a 19-9 lead after the first quarter, but only went on to out-score the Panthers by two points in the second quarter, despite shooting 43 percent from the three-point line. Northeast quickly made a few halftime adjustments that led to 50 second-half points.

Peric led the Hawks with 22 points, four assists and four steals. Stouffer, Hassett and Yiesha Williams (Elkhart, Ind.) each had 16 points. Taylor Peter (Chambers, Neb.) added 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

The Hawks return to the court against Kirkwood Community College at 1 p.m. Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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