Jan. 24, Crowder College at Sedalia
The Lady Roadrunners fell 82-81 in a nail-biter to the Crowder College Roughriders from Neosho. The game was a Region 16 match.
The Lady Roadrunners led 30-23 at the end of the first quarter, courtesy of a three-point basket from freshman guard Jazzmyn Elston. Elston scored 18 of her team-high 24 points in the first quarter.
"Jazzmyn had a heck of a ballgame," said Head Coach Kevin Bucher. "I don't know that I've ever had a freshman at State Fair play as well as she has this season. She kept us in the ballgame."
However, Crowder outscored State Fair 30-8 in the second quarter to take a hefty 53-38 lead at halftime.
"We did not do a good job of executing the game plan," said Bucher. "We had a lot of players in foul trouble. We played better the second half when we started following the game plan."
The Lady Roadrunners fought their way back into the game outscoring the Roughriders 25-12 in the third quarter to set up a dramatic fourth quarter.
SFCC led by three points with less than six minutes remaining in the final quarter. Crowder trimmed SFCC's advantage to 80-78 with less than three minutes remaining. The Roughriders tied the game at 80 with under a minute on the clock and then added two points for the win. SFCC had a couple of opportunities in the final minute but could not convert.
The Roughriders made 27 out of 36 free-throw attempts and out rebounded SFCC 40-36.
Sophomore guard Maya Brewer contributed 17 points. Sophomore guard/forward Catie Kaifesadded 10 points. Elston led the team in steals with three. Sophomore guard Ren'Cia Rolling pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and dished out a team-high nine assists. Sophomore centerGrace Morrow registered a team-high two blocked shots.
Jan. 27, Mineral Area College at Park Hills, Missouri
The Lady Roadrunners (10-11, 2-3 in Region 16, 2-4 in the MCCAC) lost another tough game to the Lady Cardinals 81-73. The game was the first road test for SFCC in Region 16 and in the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference. The game featured 12 lead changes and nine ties.
SFCC led 39-27 in the second quarter, which was the largest held by either team. At halftime, SFCC still led 39-34, but Mineral Area fought back, took the lead 57-56 in the third quarter and made the plays down the stretch for the win.
"We played well in the first half," said Assistant Coach Jade Perry. "In the third and the fourth quarters, we committed too many turnovers, and those cost us the game. Catie came out firing; she had 21 points at halftime."
Kaifes continued her hot shooting, knocking down seven of her 11 three-point attempts. She led three Lady Roadrunners in double-figure scoring with 27 points. Brewer and Morrow contributed 10 points apiece. Morrow and Kaifes tied for the team lead in blocks with two. Brewer finished her double-double pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds. Rolling recorded a team-high seven assists and three steals.
SFCC will travel to Kansas City on Jan. 30 to take on the Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley Lady Scouts. Tipoff is 5 p.m.
David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics