MCC Eliminated From National Tournament

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles had its season come to a sudden end Thursday afternoon in the consolation bracket of the NJCAA Division I Women’s National Tournament in Salina, KS. The Lady Eagles fell to Otero Junior College (CO) by a final score of 48-42 to conclude its magical postseason run. The Lady Eagles had only reached the national tournament for the fourth time in school history and closed the season with a 22-12 record.

“It was obliviously a great experience for our players to be a part of the national tournament,” said MCC head coach Hilary Allen. “This is of course an experience that these young women will remember for the rest of their lives.”

The two teams exchanged the lead on five different occasions in the opening half and there were two ties in the first half. Both schools had troubles shooting the basketball in the first half and turnovers became a factor for both squads.

The Lady Eagles shot 29 percent from the field in the first half, while the Lady Rattlers shot only 21 percent from the floor. Otero ended the half with five turnovers and MCC ended the half with six turnovers. The Lady Eagles were able to produce seven points off of the five miscues by Otero. Kia Morris and Chasity Kearney each led the Lady Eagles with six points at halftime.

Taylor Rock led the Lady Rattlers with six points at the break and four of those points came from behind the three-point line. Otero took its first lead of the second half on a 10-0 run to take a 37-30 lead with 8:01 left in the game.

Tonjie Milde led the scoring run with six points and Rock added four points. Norianna Haynes and Chasity Kearney each hit a basket moments later to silence the run and make the score 37-34 with 6:47 left in the game. The baskets for MCC were the first made baskets since the 12:23 mark in the second half.

MCC closed the gap to within one point with under two minutes to play, but the Lady Rattlers were able to drain to a pair of clutch baskets late to secure the victory. Rock hit a long three-point basket from the left wing and Aubry Boehme hit a layup inside to give Otero enough momentum to hold on for the victory.

“We played a great first half in both games in the tournament,” added Allen. “We just couldn’t make shots fall in the second half of each game and that made the difference.”

Both teams finished the game by shooting 27 percent from the floor, but the Lady Rattlers did most of its damage from long range with seven three-point baskets. Otero was drained five three-point baskets in the second half and two in the final two minutes of the game.

Kearney led the Lady Eagles with 14 points and Haynes finished her career at Meridian with nine points. Rock led Otero with 10 points and Boehme added seven in the victory for the Lady Rattlers. Otero will advance to play Southwestern Illinois Community College on Friday beginning at noon.