Strong third quarter propels No. 6 Women's Basketball to quarter finals in NJCAA DII National Championship
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Southern Arkansas University Tech (20-2) | 14 | 15 | 11 | 18 | 58 |
|
Mesa Community College (26-6) | 15 | 11 | 25 | 14 | 65 |
Southern Arkansas University Tech
| Game Statistics | Southern Arkansas University Tech | Mesa Community College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (23-57) | (25-45) |
| Field Goal % | 40.4% | 55.6% |
| Rebounds | 23 | 34 |
| Assists | 6 | 11 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 21 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 21 | 16 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 6 | 11 |
| Pts in the Paint | 34 | 36 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 12 | 4 |
| Bench Pts | 21 | 7 |
Monday March 18, 2024 - 9:25 p.m. | Dylan DeVlieger
No. 6 MCC Women's Basketball advanced to the quarter finals of the 2024 NJCAA DII Women's National Championship on Monday as they defeated No. 11 SAU Tech, 65-58.
MCC's top rated defense came out hot to start the contest as they forced a turnover on the Rockets opening three possessions. The Lady T-Birds did have their own struggles taking care of the ball to start the game as they had four turnovers in the first five minutes of action.
Towards the end of the quarter MCC built up some momentum behind back to back three-pointers from Mackenzie Shivers and Jaida Brooks but a buzzer beating half court heave from SAU Tech would end the period and cut the Mesa lead to just one, 15-14.
In the second quarter SAU Tech would go on a 10-3 run in the first five minutes as MCC struggled to take care of the ball and put it in the basket. Mesa went over five minutes (9:09-4:07) without a point as the Rockets would take the lead and work it up to six before a Brooks floater would stop the bleeding.
SAU Tech would put up five more points before Mesa would hold the Rockets scoreless for the remaining 2:19 of the quarter.
Both SAU Tech and MCC had atypical halves when it came to taking care of the basketball. Each team had 10 turnovers in the opening half, before Monday the Rockets averaged just 11.8/game while Mesa coughed it up 15.8/game.
In the third quarter MCC made an emphasis to work the ball down low as six of their first eight points came from in the paint. Mesa would claw their way back in front with 5:50 left in the quarter after an improbable possession in which MCC nearly had a 10 second backcourt violation resulted in a Kamiyah Hurd and one layup courtesy of Brooks.
Hurd owned the third quarter scoring seven points in the span of two minutes and nine total points in the frame. Mesa would end the quarter on an 8-3 run, outscore the Rockets 25-11 in the period and take a 51-40 lead into the final frame.
The beginning of the fourth quarter had both teams sluggish out of the box as in the first 3:19 played in the quarter each team only scored two points. SAU Tech would wake up with a 7-0 run to cut the MCC lead to just four. The Rockets forced two straight turnovers to begin the run.
Hurd would stop the bleeding with a layup to get the lead back up to six with 3:43 left. The scrappy SAU Tech defense would attempt to force more MCC turnovers and convert them into points. The Rockets did make a big push at the end as they trailed just four points with less than two minutes to go.
A big Miquedah Taliman corner three-pointer would all but seal a Mesa win as that shot put the Lady T-Birds up by seven with 1:45 left. MCC would eventually claim the victory and earn the right to play in the quarter finals on Wednesday night.
MCC will play the winner of the No. 3 Rock Valley (IL) and No. 14 Mid Michigan matchup that takes place tomorrow afternoon.
Breakout T-Birds:
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Kamiyah Hurd showed up big in the third quarter scoring nine of her career high 19 points in the frame.
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Jaida Brooks had 14 points on 5-10 shooting from the field to go along with four assists.
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Mackenzie Shivers had 10 points and went 4-5 from the floor as she knocked down two three-pointers in the contest.
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Britany Kogbara had 10 points and a game high 12 rebounds as she was an anchor point on the glass for MCC in the victory.
