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With 2011 coming to a close, the Conquistador basketball teams both have an idea of what they will be asking from Santa to better their respective ball club.
Until that point, both will continue to build upon the early season success that has found its way into the Dodge City Community College program thus far.
On the women's side, they traveled across state borders to take on North Platte Community College and then a rematch of a contest they lost earlier in the season, against McCook Community College.
In what has become prevalent of a new team learning a new system under a new coach, the Lady Conqs were unable to get anything going in a 71-57 loss to North Platte, but then were able to bounce back the very next night against McCook, grinding out a 63-58 revenge victory.
On Friday night, the Conqs played a fairly even match with North Platte, but were outrebounded by nine, which played a crucial role in their 14-point loss.
Leading the way for the women were Je'nae Strong and Kalyn Williams, who have established themselves as the go-to scorers on the floor for first-year head coach Lucas McDonald. Strong finished the contest with 15 points on 5 of 20 shooting, while Williams made five of her 12 shots for 13 points.
Strong also led the team with four assists and added in six rebounds while the Conqs just struggled from the floor, making less than one-third of their shots.
As for Saturday night, the girls saw a much more balanced shooting effort in a five-point victory over McCook.
They did allow 17 offensive rebounds, but Dodge was able to limit their offense to 22 of 67 shooting, just below 33% for the night.
Perhaps the surprise of the night came from Casey McCauley, who made eight of her 16 shot attempts for a team-high 16 points. Strong was the only other Conq to finish in double digits, scoring 14 and adding six rebounds.
The men's team has started off the season flying high as they capped off their 2011 home schedule with a 100-67 drubbing of York College.
However, the guys weren't done yet.
They then hit the road to take on Murray State, a team that head coach Brady Trenkle had circled on his calendar as a team that could truly test his Conq team, throwing in unheralded size on the floor that Dodge City would have to combat.
Their previous meeting saw the Conqs play keen team defense in a double digit beatdown of the Aggies at the United Wireless Arena.
On Saturday night, it would be a different story with Dodge on the road and playing with a short bench.
Despite the variables working against them, the Conqs were able to muscle out a one-point victory, 73-72, despite the Aggies only missing 16 shots from the floor, shooting just under 64% on the night.
Just how were the Conqs able to squeeze a one-point win out of a game that featured a team shooting that well? Rebounding.
The Conqs outrebounded the Aggies 46-25, grabbing 32 defensive boards and dishing out 21 assists on their 29 made field goal attempts.
Four players scored in double figures for Dodge, with the leader being sophomore Tyshon Pickett with 20. He shot 7 of 8 from the field and stroked in all four of his three-point attempts, a shot-in-progress for the big man who recently signed with Bradley University. He also threw in 11 rebounds for a double-double performance on a night when the Conqs desperately needed it.
The three other players in double digits include Tramel White (19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists), James Milton (10 points and 10 rebounds) and Clarence Willard (10 points).
With the victory, the men hit the 10-win mark and have only lost one game thus far. Their next contest will be a rematch of the 71-foul game against Labette on the road. The women, who are now at 7-5, will wrap up their 2011 portion of the calendar in Liberal as they take part in the Pizza Hut Classic. They will take on Trinidad State Community College on Dec. 9 and Northeastern Junior College on Dec. 10.
With 2011 coming to a close, the Conquistador basketball teams both have an idea of what they will be asking from Santa to better their respective ball club.
Until that point, both will continue to build upon the early season success that has found its way into the Dodge City Community College program thus far.
On the women's side, they traveled across state borders to take on North Platte Community College and then a rematch of a contest they lost earlier in the season, against McCook Community College.
In what has become prevalent of a new team learning a new system under a new coach, the Lady Conqs were unable to get anything going in a 71-57 loss to North Platte, but then were able to bounce back the very next night against McCook, grinding out a 63-58 revenge victory.
On Friday night, the Conqs played a fairly even match with North Platte, but were outrebounded by nine, which played a crucial role in their 14-point loss.
Leading the way for the women were Je'nae Strong and Kalyn Williams, who have established themselves as the go-to scorers on the floor for first-year head coach Lucas McDonald. Strong finished the contest with 15 points on 5 of 20 shooting, while Williams made five of her 12 shots for 13 points.
Strong also led the team with four assists and added in six rebounds while the Conqs just struggled from the floor, making less than one-third of their shots.
As for Saturday night, the girls saw a much more balanced shooting effort in a five-point victory over McCook.
They did allow 17 offensive rebounds, but Dodge was able to limit their offense to 22 of 67 shooting, just below 33% for the night.
Perhaps the surprise of the night came from Casey McCauley, who made eight of her 16 shot attempts for a team-high 16 points. Strong was the only other Conq to finish in double digits, scoring 14 and adding six rebounds.
The men's team has started off the season flying high as they capped off their 2011 home schedule with a 100-67 drubbing of York College.
However, the guys weren't done yet.
They then hit the road to take on Murray State, a team that head coach Brady Trenkle had circled on his calendar as a team that could truly test his Conq team, throwing in unheralded size on the floor that Dodge City would have to combat.
Their previous meeting saw the Conqs play keen team defense in a double digit beatdown of the Aggies at the United Wireless Arena.
On Saturday night, it would be a different story with Dodge on the road and playing with a short bench.
Despite the variables working against them, the Conqs were able to muscle out a one-point victory, 73-72, despite the Aggies only missing 16 shots from the floor, shooting just under 64% on the night.
Just how were the Conqs able to squeeze a one-point win out of a game that featured a team shooting that well? Rebounding.
The Conqs outrebounded the Aggies 46-25, grabbing 32 defensive boards and dishing out 21 assists on their 29 made field goal attempts.
Four players scored in double figures for Dodge, with the leader being sophomore Tyshon Pickett with 20. He shot 7 of 8 from the field and stroked in all four of his three-point attempts, a shot-in-progress for the big man who recently signed with Bradley University. He also threw in 11 rebounds for a double-double performance on a night when the Conqs desperately needed it.
The three other players in double digits include Tramel White (19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists), James Milton (10 points and 10 rebounds) and Clarence Willard (10 points).
With the victory, the men hit the 10-win mark and have only lost one game thus far. Their next contest will be a rematch of the 71-foul game against Labette on the road. The women, who are now at 7-5, will wrap up their 2011 portion of the calendar in Liberal as they take part in the Pizza Hut Classic. They will take on Trinidad State Community College on Dec. 9 and Northeastern Junior College on Dec. 10.
