Nov. 19 Southeastern Community College at Keokuk, Iowa

The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Lady Roadrunners won their second game in a row with an 83-74 victory over the Southeastern Community College Blackhawks on Tuesday, Nov. 19 in Keokuk, Iowa.

Southeastern led 22-21 at the end of the first quarter. The Blackhawks led 36-34 at halftime. The Lady Roadrunners took control of the game in the fourth quarter.

"Connor Watkins hit another big three-point shot to kind of ice the game," said Lady Roadrunners Head Coach Kevin Bucher. "We struggled with our passing late, but still hung on for a nine point victory. Connor had a great game for us. Darlisha Reed played aggressively on both ends of the floor. Our team showed improvement in the last two games. It was a good road win for us. Southeastern had a nice crowd in a small gym, so it was important to take the crowd out of the game at the very end."

Sophomore guard/forward Connor Watkins of Charleston, Missouri led her team in scoring with 23 points including knocking down all five of her three-point attempts. Sophomore guard/forward Nadia Thorman-McKey of Evanston, Illinois contributed 21 points. Freshman guard/forward Darlisha Reed of Gary, Indiana had a double-double with 16 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Freshman guard Laila McNeal of Chicago, Illinois added 10 points. Freshman guard Ryann Haynes of St. Louis, Missouri also pitched in with 10 points, to go along with a team-high three steals and six assists.

Nov. 22 Moberly Area Community College at Sedalia, Missouri

SFCC opened their portion of the Region 16 Showcase with an 85-48 loss to the Moberly Area Community College Lady Greyhounds on Friday, Nov. 22 inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center.

Moberly used a big second quarter outscoring SFCC 28-16 to take control of the contest. The Lady Roadrunners struggled offensively the entire game shooting only 21% from the field.

Thorman-McKey led the team in scoring with 14 points and two steals. McNeal dished out a team-high four assists. Reed pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds.

"We are putting people in a lot of different positions," said Bucher. "Laila McNeal always plays hard. Sometimes she was up against a post player. We took some quick shots. We rebounded well in the first half, in the second half Moberly used their strength and power. I went to a smaller lineup late in the game to try to conserve our legs."

Nov. 23 Jefferson College at Sedalia, Missouri

SFCC (2-8) closed out the Region 16 Showcase with a heartbreaking 81-78 loss to the Jefferson College Lady Vikings from Hillsboro, Missouri inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center

Jefferson led at the end of one quarter 29-15 as the Lady Roadrunners struggled to solve the Jefferson full-court pressure defense. SFCC trailed 40-31 at the end of the half.

"We just looked tired," said Bucher. "We had a lot of fatigued players because we're having to play the same players for a lot of minutes. We were down 15 points and able to come back, it was great to see. We took a five or six point lead. We have to do a better job of hitting our free throws. This was a great event. There are some really good teams in our region."

Thorman-McKey led four Lady Roadrunners in double figures with 23 points. She finished her double-double with 11 rebounds. Reed had another double-double with 17 points and a team-high 13 rebounds. Watkins contributed 14 points, a team-high four assists and four steals. Haynes pitched in with 12 points.

As a team, SFCC shot 36% from the field and 35% from beyond the three-point arc. The Lady Roadrunners only converted on 40% of their free throw attempts.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics