No. 6 Women's Basketball battles a top three team in nation on Saturday afternoon
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
College of Southern Idaho (7-1, 0-0) | 13 | 14 | 18 | 15 | 60 |
|
Mesa Community College (4-1, 0-0) | 21 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 63 |
College of Southern Idaho
| Game Statistics | College of Southern Idaho | Mesa Community College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (20-57) | (24-58) |
| Field Goal % | 35.1% | 41.4% |
| Rebounds | 36 | 35 |
| Assists | 9 | 15 |
| Turnovers | 17 | 18 |
Friday November 16, 2023 - 4:35 p.m. | Dylan DeVlieger
No. 6 MCC Women's Basketball hosts the No. 3 ranked DI team, College of Southern Idaho on Saturday afternoon.
Entering play on Saturday with a 3-1 record, the Lady T-Birds are coming off of two big wins for different reasons. Last Saturday MCC took down the then No. 5 ranked DII in the nation, Morton College 77-71 behind standout performances from Jaida Brooks, Ashiian Hunter, and Brittany Kogbara.
On Wednesday night Mesa defeated Community Christian College by 76 points as they walked away with the 102-26 victory. The win was an all around team performance as all contributed in some way or another.
The College of Southern Idaho comes into play with a perfect 7-0 record with wins over two ACCAC teams as they defeated Yavapai College 89-70 on Nov. 9, and Scottsdale CC 74-54 on Nov. 16.
The Golden Eagles do a tremendous job scoring the ball as they rank third in the nation for DI schools with 566 points so far this season, averaging 80.8 PPG (20th in the country).
CSI also does well defensively as they hold teams to just 54.9 PPG while keeping them to a field goal percentage of just 34%. On average MCC shoots 45.6% from the field as they take smart shots and connect on them on a regular basis.
Mesa has shown they can play with pace and slowing the game down in all four games they've played so far. MCC has sharpshooting athletes who can fill it up from behind the arc as well as from in the paint.
MCC does a good job of sharing the ball as they average 19.3 assists per game led by Ashiian Hunter who tallies 3.8 dimes per game.
This will be the third match up between the two teams as CSI is 3-0 against MCC, their last contest came back on Nov. 12, 2021 when the Golden Eagles got a 58-55 win over Mesa.
Thunderbird Keys to the Game:
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Force turnovers and capitalize off them; the Golden Eagles average 17.1 turnovers per contest and allow opponents to score 12.4 points off turnovers. MCC averages 12.5 steals per game, if the Lady T-Birds can take possessions away from CSI they increase their chances to come out on top.
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Mesa must crash the glass in order to compete, CSI averages 43.6 rebounds per contest, 14.3 of them being offensive. MCC has not yet shown they are an elite rebounding team grabbing 33.3 boards per game just 11th best in the ACCAC and 103rd in terms of DII teams.
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Mesa will have to lock in defensively to shutdown the Golden Eagles key four players who are all averaging over 10 PPG; Kennedy Gillette (12.3), Kaylee Headrick (11.3), Jamisyn Heaton (11.1), and Jayden McNeal (10.4).
The game will tip-off at 1:30 p.m. at Theo Heap Gymnasium, admission is free with the donation of a non-perishable food item.
Can't make the game? MCC Athletics has you covered, tune into T-Birds Sports Live to catch all the action!
