By Marissa VanWingen

On the road at fourth-place Iowa Western (11-6, 8-3), Ellsworth Community College once again had the opportunity to record an upset before running out of gas late. The Reivers held off the visitors 63-59.

The Panthers (8-9, 4-7) led by as many as four in the first 10 minutes, taking their first advantage on a Kana Nagashima triple (11-10). The difference was 14-10 and 16-15 after the opening quarter.

ECC went up by six on a three-pointer by Sofia Berraquero Beltran (23-17) and remained on top until the break. After 20 minutes played, the Panthers led 32-29.

The two would trade leads back and forth throughout the third period, but the Reivers would outscore the visitors by 10 and went on a 10-2 run to take a 47-40 lead going into the final quarter.

The largest difference would be eight in the fourth and the closest ECC got was three. Beltran drained a long ball to cut the deficit to 56-53 with under two minutes to go. Later, Beltran's fourth long ball cut the difference to one (60-59) as the visitors had to start fouling. Iowa Western hit three of four in the final 17 seconds to earn the win.

Yaiza Soriano Balaguer led the Panthers with 20 points. Beltran added 13 and Nagashima 10.

ECC hosts NIACC on Wednesday and Northeast on Saturday this week and currently hold the eighth and final playoff spot.

For more on ECC Athletics, visit https://www.timescitizen.com/sports/ecc/

ICCAC Basketball
Saturday at Council Bluffs

ECC: 16| 16| 8| 19 - 59
IWCC: 15| 14| 18| 16 - 63

ECC Scoring: Yaiza Soriano Balaguer 5 10-14 20; Sofia Berraquero Beltran 4 1-2 13; Kana Nagashima 3 2-2 10; Claudia Sanz Dorange 3 1-1 8; Inma Martinez 2 1-2 6; Sare Celaya Urratia 1 0-0 2.