The NOC Mavericks face Seminole in the NJCAA Region 2 Tournament Thursday at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee.
Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
The 7th ranked Mavs (27-3) ended the regular season in a tie for second place in Region 2 at 13-3 while the Trojans (17-12) were 7-9 in conference play.
NOC swept the Trojans during the regular season winning 73-58 in January and then earning the sweep last Thursday with an 80-68 win.
NOC coach Donnie Jackson said the Trojans have his attention.
“We will need to be a lot better when we see them in the region tournament,” Jackson said after beating the Trojans last week. “They are different team because of their overall size. We have to be careful not to play their game.”
If the Mavs win, the semi-finals would be Friday at 8 p.m.
The finals are set for 4 p.m. Saturday.
Northern Oklahoma College, the state’s first public community college, is a multi-campus, land-grant institution that provides high quality, accessible, and affordable educational opportunities and services which create life-changing experiences and develop students as effective learners and leaders within their communities in a connected, ever changing world.
As for the Lady Mavs, their season ended Monday night in the Region 2 Playoffs losing to NEO 68-64 in Miami.
NOC (3-26) saw their season end while NEO (14-13) advanced in the Region 2 Tournament at Shawnee on Wednesday.
The Lady Mavs were led by freshman Radina Zhivachka with 15 points while freshman Caitlyn Bailed and sophomore Chideyah Guyton added 10 points each. Cassie Manning led the Lady Mavs with 14 rebounds.
The Lady Mavs trailed the Lady Norse 41-34 at half before outscoring NEO 23-9 in the third quarter to take a 56-50 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
NOC and the Lady Norse were tied with 1:21 but NEO made plays down the stretch to squeeze out the 68-64 win.
“We were in a position to win in the last two minutes but didn’t execute some things under our control,” said coach Greg Krause. “I thought Radina (Zhivachka) and Cassie (Manning) played well and Caitlyn (Bailey) did a good job taking care of the ball at point guard.”
The Lady Mavs shot 29 percent from the floor and 25 percent from 3-point range. The Lady Mavs defense held NEO to 32 percent shooting from the floor and 22 percent from 3-point range.
NEO 68, Lady Mavs 64
1 2 3 4—Total
Lady Mavs 19 14 23 8– 64
NEO 23 18 9 18—68
Lady Mavs—R. Zhivachka 15, C. Bailey 10, C. Guyton 10, C. Murray 8, H. Maples 8, C. Manning 8, L. Coates 5.
Northern Oklahoma College, the state’s first public community college, is a multi-campus, land-grant institution that provides high quality, accessible, and affordable educational opportunities and services which create life-changing experiences and develop students as effective learners and leaders within their communities in a connected, ever changing world.
NOC, a public two year community college, serves 4,200 students on the home campus in Tonkawa, branch in Enid, NOC/OSU Gateway Program in Stillwater, online, and the University Center in Ponca City.
In 2019, NOC celebrated the 20-year anniversary of the Enid campus and a 15-year partnership with OSU for the Gateway Program.
NOC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers associate degrees in three general areas: Arts, Science and Applied Science. The associate degree fulfills lower-division course work which is applicable towards a bachelor’s degree.
Call (580) 628-6200 for more information about Northern Oklahoma College or visit www.noc.edu .
