Women's Basketball hosts Chandler-Gilbert in the Semi-Finals of the Region I DII Postseason
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Chandler-Gilbert Community College (13-18, 8-15) | 10 | 10 | 19 | 24 | 63 |
|
Mesa Community College (24-6, 18-5) | 20 | 23 | 22 | 17 | 82 |
Chandler-Gilbert Community College
| Game Statistics | Chandler-Gilbert Community College | Mesa Community College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (20-60) | (36-73) |
| Field Goal % | 33.3% | 49.3% |
| Rebounds | 33 | 42 |
| Assists | 11 | 21 |
| Turnovers | 17 | 13 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 20 | 19 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 14 | 14 |
| Pts in the Paint | 18 | 46 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 4 | 14 |
| Bench Pts | 29 | 34 |
Wednesday March 6, 2024 - 2:25 p.m. | Dylan DeVlieger
No. 1 seed Mesa Community College Women's Basketball will host No. 4 seed Chandler-Gilbert in the Region I DII Semi-Finals on Thursday.
The Lady T-Birds are on a quest for their sixth title in the past ten seasons. This is Mesa's 17th consecutive trip to the Region I postseason.
MCC's 18 conference victories are the most in a season since the 2013-14, the same year the Lady T-Birds ran the table at the NJCAA Championships and brought home the title.
Mesa was in danger of losing the No. 1 seed and home court advantage due to their 78-55 loss to Cochise College on Monday. Luckily for MCC, Eastern Arizona College took care of business and defeated Pima on Monday, helping the Lady T-Birds clinch the No. 1 seed and home court advantage throughout the postseason.
Home court advantage will come in handy for MCC especially if they advance to the finals as their winning percentage at Theo Heap Gymnasium is 83.3% while away from home they won at a 72.7% rate.
On Thursday the Lady T-Birds will welcome in the CGCC Coyotes as their semi-finals opponent, a team that MCC has defeated three times this year by an average of 35.3 points.
Game One (Jan. 6)
In their first meeting of the season MCC came out slow in the first quarter, only putting up nine points to CGCC's 10. In the second quarter Mesa barely did much better as they put up 13 points but were able to kepp the Coyotes to seven.
The second half was when MCC turned it on, scoring 20 points in the third and fourth quarter as they cruised to a 62-30 victory. Mesa held the Coyotes to just three points in the final quarter.
Ashiian Hunter led the way for the Lady T-Birds as she had 14 points and nailed 4-6 from downtown. MCC did a great job defending the three against CGCC as the Coyotes were just 2-16 (12.5%) from downtown. Defensively Mesa forced 34 turnovers in the contest.
Game two (Jan. 31)
In their only meeting at Theo Heap Gymnasium MCC came out on fire as they scored 23 points in the first quarter behind nine Aaliyah Garcia points. On the defensive end Mesa was focused, forcing eight first quarter turnovers while holding CGCC to six points on 3-13 (23.1%) shooting.
In the second quarter MCC kept the momentum in their favor as they outscored CGCC, 18-8 in the quarter forcing five more turnovers in the second frame as they took a 41-14 lead into the halftime locker room.
The third quarter was the best quarter for CGCC as they scored 19 points behind four made three-pointers. The Lady T-Birds did not do bad for themselves in the third period, matching CGCC's 19 points as they shot 34.8% from the floor it seemed as though Mesa struggled only due to the fact in the previous two quarters they shot 47.1% from the field.
In the final period Mesa put CGCC to bed as they held the Coyotes to just seven points on 21.4% shooting from the field while scoring 21 points on 52.9% shooting.
Kayda Pierce exploded in the fourth quarter scoring 11 points on 4-5 shooting. MCC secured the 81-40 victory.
It was a standout performance from multiple T-Birds as four players were in double figures as Aaliyah Garcia put up a career high with 15 points. Jana Solee and Kayda Pierce came off the bench and made impacts as Solee had 14 points to go along with six rebounds and Pierce had an outstanding fourth quarter where she scored all 11 of her points.
Game three (Feb. 24)
In their final regular season meeting of the season MCC dominated in the first half as they tallied 40 points to CGCC's 17. MCC scored the Coyotes halftime total in the first quarter.
In the second half Mesa averaged 15.5 points per quarter while allowing 10 per quarter in the final two periods.
MCC was led in scoring by Mackenzie Shivers who had 16 points behind 3-7 shooting from deep. Britany Kogbara had a standout game as she had nine points and 11 rebounds as the Lady T-Birds cruised to a 71-37 victory.
The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. at Theo Heap Gymnasium, catch the live stream via T-Birds Sports Live!
Tickets:
Adults - $5.00
Students with MCC ID, children under the age of 12, adults 65 or over - $3.00
Non-perishable items will not gain you free entry into the game, all who enter must pay the above price.
