National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk men and women’s basketball teams battled the Rhema Bible College Eagles in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Saturday.
Illness and injury plagued the women’s team Saturday. They ended the first half down by 31 points, 50-19. Despite their struggles, the women fought hard to end the game with a 78-52 final score.
Assistant women’s coach Tennille Johnson said, “I couldn’t be more proud of the grit these women displayed. It was a tough match. We had players out and a few injuries to contend with, but the girls really showed us what they are made of today.”
Leading scorer for the women was Faith Bratton (33) of Jessieville who scored 22 points, four rebounds five assists and two steals. Anna Ledbetter (50) of Lake Hamilton scored 12 points and had 13 rebounds. Kayla Sims (23) of Fountain Lake scored nine points, six rebounds, one assist and a steal.
The men’s team also fought a competitive match. The score remained fairly even the majority of the game. The Eagles ended the first half with a slight lead, 43-40. The Nighthawks cranked it up in the second half, pulling away in the last seven minutes for a final score of 83-74.
“I am so proud of how tough our team plays on the road. This is a big win against a quality opponent. The men are really playing with a passion and a toughness that you have to have to win at this level,” said Head Coach Jason Hudnell.
Leading scorer for the men was KJ Corder (13) of Hot Springs with 24 points, nine rebounds, two assists and three steals. Braylon Steen (24) of Bryant scored 11 points, seven rebounds, and one steal. Jarvis Ricks (1) of North Little Rock scored 11 points, one rebound, two assists, and a steal. Logan Willett (11) of West Memphis and Lowell Washington (12) of Bryant both scored 11 points and eight rebounds each. Clyde Ricks (4) of Hope scored 4 points, five rebounds, two assists and six steals.
Both the men and the women’s teams will play Saturday, February 24 for the National Park College Homecoming. Homecoming festivities will begin with the Van Davis 5K at 9:00 a.m. at Baseball (Whittington) Park. An alumni reception with the teams will begin at 11:00 a.m. in the Frederick M. Dierks Center for Nursing and Health Sciences. Attendees will enjoy a meet and greet with current and former athletes and have an opportunity to reminisce with photos from College archives. Lunch will be provided courtesy of Hot Springs Baptist Church. All National Park College, Garland County Community College, and Quapaw Technical Institute alumni are encouraged to attend and bring memorabilia to share.
Following the reception, the Nighthawk women’s team will play ASU Mid-South at 12:30 p.m. The Nighthawk men’s team will play Champion Christian College for their third and final meet of the season. Alumni will be recognized during the games.
All events are open to the public.
The games will be live streamed at www.xzerosports.com. A complete schedule of games and links to archived broadcasts of games are available at www.np.edu/athletics.
