Collin College Women's Basketball put up two wins to close out their last five games and have two home games remaining before the winter break.
Collin widened the scoring gap in the second half of their 86-59 win over Murray State. The game was tight in the first half as the lead changed hands repeatedly. Then, just before halftime, Jayden Smallwood sank a layup and went to the foul line with an and-one. The play hyped the team and the crowd going into the break, and the Cougars were all business coming out of halftime. Collin outscored the Aggies by 17 points in the third quarter to open up an insurmountable lead.
Alisha Nunley put up a monster 35-point game, followed closely by Smallwood with 26 points. The pair also led rebounding, with Smallwood notching 10 of her 11 total rebounds on the defensive end and Nunley five boards on offense and two on defense.
The Cougars had closed out an all-road-game series with a trip to Blinn College on Nov. 23, losing 66-49 to the No. 25 team. Kenzie Willis-Gusters and Sara Basaran each had 11 points in the game to lead scoring for Collin. They were followed by Nunley with 9 points and six steals. While Collin took an early lead, the team was outscored in the final two quarters. The Buccaneers were strong outside, sinking nine three-pointers to Collin's two. Willis-Gusters and Basaran each had one from beyond the arc.
Collin had a better outing against Tyler Junior College, winning 79-56 in the first game of the Collin College Classic. Nunley went off with 35 points in the game, including three of the team's four three-pointers. She was followed by Taliah Martin with 11 points and Olivia Grgichevich Lassey with 10 points. The Cougars shot 40.6% from the field and dominated the turnover game with 12 steals. Mufaro Mapengo contributed six alone.
The following day's game was much tighter with Kilgore College coming away with a 64-55 win despite a big third quarter for the Cougars. Kilgore had jumped out to a 10-point lead at the half, but Collin cut Kilgore's advantage to two by the end of that quarter. However, a strong showing in the final frame sealed the game for the opposition.
Willis-Gusters led scoring for Collin with 15 points, followed by Nunley with 13, and Martin with 10. The Cougars had trouble making shots fall with a 28.8% showing from the floor, although the team's defense was on point, forcing 23 turnovers compared to Collin's 15.
The Cougars picked up an 85-32 win against Nelson University to start a short December season. Smallwood and Grgicevich Lassey each had 14 points in the blowout win. Basaran put up 10 points and Nunley and Martin notched eight points each. Scoring was spread around, with every member of the team scoring. The team shot 39.3% from the field. Mapengo again led in steals with four.
The Cougars will face Paris Junior College at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7, and Blinn College at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 11 to close out their games before the break. Both games will pit Collin against teams the Cougars have already faced once this season.
The team will tune up for conference play with games on Jan. 2-3 against Connors State College and Frank Phillips College, both starting at 3 p.m. at the Plano Campus competition gym.