CHEYENNE – The Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) Lady Lancers snagged their third consecutive conference win with a decisive 79-74 victory against Laramie County Community College (LCCC) Saturday.

The Lady Lancers currently sit with a 7-2 conference record.

EWC dominated the first quarter, topping LCCC in scoring, 21-9.

LCCC turned the tables in the second quarter, netting 27 points while holding the Lady Lancers to 13 points.

The scoreboard favored LCCC by a single possession, 36-34, at halftime.

Refusing to yield, the Lady Lancers outscored LCCC, 21-18, in the third quarter to recapture the lead by one point, 55-54, as the fourth quarter commenced.

EWC won a neck-and-neck fourth quarter, 24-20, to prevail over LCCC.

“This was a hard-fought, gritty win,” coach Tim Larsen said. “The game was a back-and-forth battle, especially inside as LCCC has a couple of really good post players. I thought we did a really good job defensively against their main stars and that helped propel us in the second half.”

Larsen called the Lady Lancers’ victory a “great team effort” that resulted in “double digit assists” and five athletes posting double digit points.

“I think when we have that kind of balanced attack, we are really tough because you can’t just key in on one player – it opens it up for everyone,” Larsen added “(Freshman) Ali Tripp was huge for us, really stepping up and not only leading us offensively, but also guarding LCCC’s best wing player. (Freshman) Tawny Rodriguez and (sophomore) Tamar Kopilevich fought through early foul trouble and did a phenomenal job on the defensive end.”

Tripp led EWC in scoring against LCCC with 21 points. Sophomore Hailey Long netted 13 points, freshman Luna Moreno 11 with 10 apiece by sophomore Andrea Gutierrez Ciordia and Kopilevich.

Long went double-double with 12 rebounds. Moreno delivered four assists and Tripp tallied three steals.

Torrington graduate and LCCC sophomore Mattie Jones tallied five points, four assists and three steals in the loss.