Reiver women lose two tough battles in Classic

Council Bluffs, IA – The Reiver women lost two tough games in the Reiver Classic, falling to No. 7 ranked New Mexico Junior College and Labette Community College. The Reivers move to 7-6 after playing a tough schedule over the last 6 weeks, facing 4 top-25 ranked teams. 

Iowa Western vs. New Mexico JC

Throughout the game the Reivers were unable to connect on their field goals and struggled to score, falling to the Thunderbirds 53-68.  

After a quick exchange of baskets to start the game the Reivers gained momentum through some key defensive stops through a zone defense. The Reivers held the Thunderbirds scoreless for two minutes in the first quarter before quickly falling into their own offensive slump. 

The second quarter saw New Mexico pull away as they outscored Iowa Western 21-8. Iowa Western shot only 21% from the field and entered halftime down 19-37. 

The Reivers came out focused in the third quarter and began to chip away at the deficit. Both IWCC and NMJC ended the third quarter scoring 18 points. The Reivers continued to battle and outscored the Thunderbirds 16-13 in the fourth quarter, but were unable to make up for only scoring 8 points in the second quarter. 

Freshman guard Sommer Blakemore led Iowa Western with 19 points. 

Iowa Western vs. Labette CC

The Reivers had a quick turnaround from their game against NMJC and faced Labette CC on Saturday, December 9^th. The Reivers, missing starting Forward Kiara Dallman relied on scoring from the guards to keep up with an athletic Labette team. 

After three quarter of exchanging baskets and up-temp play, the Reivers entered the fourth quarter up 53-48.  After missing two at the line the Reivers gave up a transition basket which gave Labette a 1 point lead at the 7:22 mark. After a rapid exchange of missed shots, offensive boards, and timeouts, Reiver Arena was buzzing with fans from both sides engaged in the up-tempo game. 

With 24 seconds remaining in the game, Freshman Haley Moore snagged a defensive board and Iowa Western brought the ball up trailing by , 61-62.  Sophomore De'Ayra Davis attacked the rim with just a few seconds remaining on the game clock and was fouled. She made 1 of 2 at the line before Labette called a full time out. After advancing the ball Labette scored on a last second lob play to win the game 64-62. 

Iowa Western was again led by freshman guard Sommer Blakemore who ended the game with 22 points, 2 assists, and 6 rebounds. The Reivers also saw a strong game from De'Ayra Davis who finished with 13 points. The Reivers will travel to Southeast Community College on Wednesday December 12^th  to take on the Storm  at 6:00 p.m. before heading into the Holiday break.