Lady Roadrunners Basketball Recaps Feb. 11-16

Feb. 11 Iowa Western Community College at Sedalia

The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Lady Roadrunners lost a 72-51 game to the Iowa Western Community College Lady Reivers from Council Bluffs, Iowa on Monday, Feb. 11. The game took place inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center on the Sedalia campus.

SFCC jumped out to a 21-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. Sophomore guard Jazzmyn Elston of Rossville, Georgia hit a deep three-point shot fading away as time expired to give her team the advantage at the end of one quarter.

The Lady Reivers outscored the Lady Roadrunners 19-9 in the second quarter to take control of the game and led 34-30 at halftime. Iowa Western used their speed to create transition baskets which proved to be the difference with a 56-35 lead at the end of three quarters.

Elston led in scoring with 14 points for SFCC. Freshman guard Nokoia White of Ennis, Texas pitched in with 12 points. Freshman forward Sahara Bamba of New York, New York pitched in with 11. The Lady Roadrunners finished the game 10 of 13 from the free-throw line.

"We had too many passes that led to turnovers," said Lady Roadrunners Head Basketball Coach Kevin Bucher. "We were able to play well in the first quarter, but then we just got tired. I was pleased that we were able to battle until the end of the game. We were able to compete and that's something that has changed throughout the season."

Feb. 13 Crowder College at Sedalia

The SFCC Lady Roadrunners picked up a very important 78-69 win over the Crowder College Lady Roughriders on Wednesday, Feb. 13. The game was part of the Region 16 schedule for both teams.

Crowder led 18-16 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Roadrunners attacked the basket on the offensive end of the court and turned up the pressure on the defensive end to take a 43-31 lead into halftime, outscoring Crowder 27-13 in the second quarter. SFCC pushed the advantage to 20 points at the end of three quarters.

"The second and third quarters were very big for us," said Bucher. "At times, we can look really good and then all of a sudden we start standing around. I think a lot of it has to do with fatigue. We needed to show that we can finish a game. We've gotten to this point so many times and just give up the lead. Tonight, we were able to finish the game."

Crowder refused to go away quietly and cut the lead to single digits in the final quarter. However, SFCC made the plays necessary in the final minutes to secure the victory.

Elston and White tied for the team in scoring with 17 points each. White tied with sophomore guard Monique Esbrand of London, England pulling down nine rebounds apiece. White led her team in steals with two. Esbrand also registered 13 points and a team-high two blocked shots. Bamba added 11 points.

Feb. 16 Moberly Area Community College at Sedalia

The SFCC Lady Roadrunners fell to the Moberly Area Community College Lady Greyhounds 66-62 on Saturday, Feb. 16 inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center. The game was part of the Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference schedule for both teams and was also the Homecoming game for SFCC. The contest featured 12 lead changes and eight ties.

The Lady Roadrunners led 16-15 at the end of one quarter. SFCC opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run to take a 25-15 lead. The Lady Greyhounds cut the deficit to three at halftime. Moberly led 45-41 at the end of three quarters and made just enough plays in the fourth quarter to secure the hard-fought victory.

SFCC (6-16, 2-6 in Region 16, 1-7 in the MCCAC) was led in scoring by White with 16 points. Sophomore guard Sckiya Banister of Kansas City, Missouri pitched in with 13. She also dished out a team-high six assists. Freshman forward Dalen Tate of Lawrenceville, Georgia pulled down a team-high six rebounds and two steals.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics