Lady T-birds win round 1
Aaron Webster
Alli Gloyd could not find her touch in the first half of the first round of the NJCAA National Tournament in Peoria, Illinois. In the second half, she was unstoppable.
Gloyd, who had no points in the first half but finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds, led the fifth seeded Mesa Community College Thunderbirds to a 65-61 victory over the St. Louis Archers Wednesday.
Kalasia Green chipped in for the T-Birds, scoring 17 points, grabbing four rebounds and two steals.
Mesa controlled the boards for the entire game, out-rebounding the Archers 69-45. Thirty three of those came on the offensive side, to just 20 for St. Louis.
The T-Birds shot 8-10 (80 percent) in the first half from the free-throw line, 17-29 (59 percent) for the game.
Mesa will play Louisburg Thursday at 8 p.m. central time for a trip to the semi-finals.