The Snow College women's basketball team was defeated 65-64 againast Colorado Northwestern Community College's as Hailey Long sank a game-winning basket at the buzzer Saturday afternoon in Rangely, CO. This loss snapped the Badger's 35-game winning streak against the Spartans.
Snow College came into Saturday's matchup after two powerful victories against Christian Community College the weekend prior. Friday's game saw the Badgers earn a commanding 98-46 victory while in Saturday's game, they cruised to an 82-40 win.
Saturday's matchup was the final game of the regular season for Snow College and the series closer against CNCC. This season, the two teams have met twice with the Badgers winning both games by at least 22 points. Snow College earned a 75-52 victory Dec. 16 in Ephraim and a 77-55 victory Jan. 28 in Rangely.
The Badgers opened the game as the dominant team, leading for nearly all of the first quarter. The Spartans kept close behind but struggled offensively as they had five turnovers in the last five minutes of the quarter. Snow College was able to push its lead and lit it up from beyond the arc, going 5-8 from 3-point range. The first quarter ended with the Badgers leading 23-17.
Snow College came out even stronger in the second quarter as the team continued to push the lead. The Badgers shot 50 percent from the field while the Spartans struggled going just 3-18 from the field for a mere 16.7 percent. Samiana Suguturaga scored half of Snow College's second-quarter points, contributing eight points on 3-3 shooting and 2-2 from the free-throw line. As the first half came to a close, the Badgers outscored the Spartans 16-9. The second quarter ended with Snow College leading 39-26.
Despite the strong first-half performance from the Badgers, the Spartans came out hungry for victory. CNCC's shooting improved drastically as the team went 6-14 from the field in the third quarter. In addition, the Spartans got to the free-throw line 10 times in the third quarter alone and converted on nine, bringing them back into the game. CNCC outscored Snow College 22-15 and cut the Badger's lead to only eight points heading into the final quarter of play.
The Spartan's momentum carried into the fourth quarter and at the 6:51 mark, they took their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. Snow College struggled offensively and shot just 4-13 from the field, allowing CNCC to gain control. In the final minute of the game however, the Badgers went on a mini 4-0 run which give them a one-point lead. With only seconds remaining, CNCC's Long drained a baseline jumper with just 0.4 seconds remaining. without a timeout, the Badgers were forced to go the entire length of the floor. A deep pass found the hands of Suguturaga who turned and shot. The ball found the bottom of the net, but was waved off giving the Spartans the 65-64 victory.
Snow College was led in scoring by Suguturaga who contributed 22 points on 8-16 shooting, also adding four blocks and two steals. Reagan Yamauchi would also score in double figures as she finished with 12 points.
Despite this difficult loss, the Badgers retain their position as the fourth seed in the Region 18 Tournament. They will prepare to face the No.-4 ranked and top-seeded College of Southern Idaho Thursday, March 9, in Twin Falls. For game start times, video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
