Estrade Scores 16, T-Birds Stomp Westerners by 31

The No. 3 ranked NMJC women's basketball team earned a bounce-back win over Western Texas College 69-38 on Friday afternoon.

The T-Birds were coming off their first loss of the season to South Plains 59-57 on Monday.

Friday's game was originally planned for Thursday but was delayed due to weather conditions.

NMJC jumped out to a 12-point lead after the first quarter, 17-5, as they limited the Westerners to 16.7% from the field. The Thunderbirds blew open the game in the second quarter outscoring Western Texas 28-7 in the frame. T-Bird guards Jada Graves and Cacia Antonio combined for 15 points in the quarter alone. 

NMJC took it easy in the second half giving the bench a chance to make an impact. 12 of the 15 players in the game scored Thursday afternoon.  

Sophomore Nuria Estrade finished with a team-high 16 points. Emma Najjuma ended the game with 11 rebounds. 

Guard Cacia Antonio scored nine points and dished out five assists. Pania Davis recorded seven rebounds in the 31-point win. 

The T-Birds shot 19-for-48 (39.6%) from the field, 7-for-22 (31.8%) from the 3-point line, and 24-of-32 (75.0%) from the charity stripe. The Thunderbirds forced 26 turnovers and held the Westerners to 27.1% from the field and 18.8% from three-point land. 

The No. 3 Thunderbirds improve to 16-1 (1-1) and will face No. 15 Odessa College in Odessa, Texas on Monday, Jan. 13 at 5:45 p.m. CST.