By Marissa VanWingen
mvanwingen@iafalls.com
Ellsworth Community College could never overcome a slow start Saturday in the Region XI-A semifinal and fell by a 48-38 final to top-seeded Kirkwood Community College.
The loss ended ECC's season with a 14-15 overall record.
While there was a lid on the hoop for the visitors, it was once again a close contest, as Kirkwood did not
After leading 2-0, ECC went cold in the first quarter and most of the game. The Eagles (27-3) soared out to a 10-2 lead and were on top 12-5 after 10 minutes. The Panthers did not hit their first field goal until 11 minutes of game time had elapsed and Inma Martinez recorded a layup in the second quarter. A steal and make by Claudia Sanz Dorange cut the difference to four (13-9) and they would be separated by six points at the break (21-15).
Neither team could get any sort of offense going, with ECC making just four of 24 from the floor in the first half. Kirkwood wasn't shooting much better, making shots at a 26 percent clip the opening 20 minutes.
The Eagles outscored the visitors 12-6 in the third stanza to lead by 12 (33-21) heading into the final 10 minutes of the game. ECC got within single digits with under four minutes left to play, but Kirkwood responded to go back up by 10.
With 2:05 left to go in the game and in the Panthers season, Martinez drained a triple to cut the deficit to six (39-33). The visitors were never able to make a needed stop or connect on a key basket to take the lead. The Eagles scored nine of the final 14 points of the contest.
ECC made eight field goals and four triples in the contest and committed 19 turnovers.
Two Panthers also finished in double digits scoring, led by Yaiza Soriano with 13, with nine of her points coming from the free throw line. Martinez had two of the team's four three pointers and finished with 10 points.
For more on ECC Athletics visit https://www.timescitizen.com/sports/ecc/
Region XI-A Semifinal
Saturday at Cedar Rapids
ECC: 5| 10| 6| 17 – 38
KCC: 13| 8| 12| 15 – 48
ECC Scoring: Yaiza Soriano Balaguer 2 9-12 13; Inma Martinez 3 2-4 10; Asia Beale 0 6-8 6; Claudia Sanz Dorange 2 0-0 5; Sofia Berraquero Beltran 1 1-2 4.