Lady Roadrunners split a pair of games against ranked teams

Jan. 17 Mineral Area College at Park Hills

The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Lady Roadrunners dropped a hard-fought defensive battle 50-42 to the 19^th ranked Mineral Area College Lady Cardinals on Wednesday night, Jan. 17 in Park Hills. The game was part of the Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference schedule for both teams.

Despite the offensive struggles, the Lady Roadrunners held the lead for most of the first quarter until Mineral Area took the lead in the final seconds of the quarter. Mineral Area led 14-11 at the end the first quarter.

Mineral Area led 17-14 with less than six minutes to go in the second quarter. SFCC cut the deficit to one point at halftime. Mineral Area led 19-18.

Freshman guard Nakayla Green tied the contest at 29 with less than six minutes remaining in the third quarter courtesy of a pair of free throws. Green knocked down a three-point shot to give her team a one-point advantage with four minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter at 32-31.

Mineral Area fought back to take a 37-34 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Lady Cardinals made the plays in the final quarter to preserve the victory. The defeat was only the second of the season for SFCC.

Green led the team in scoring with 11 points. Sophomore center Jaida Shipp contributed 10. Sophomore guard Tanila Marshall pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds. Freshman guard Madison Johnson recorded a team-high two assists. Sophomore forward Quincenia Jackson registered a team-high two blocked shots.

As a team, SFCC was held to 25% shooting from the field and had 23 turnovers in the game.

Jan. 20 Three Rivers Community College at Sedalia

SFCC (16-2, 2-1 in Region 16) upset the sixth-ranked Three Rivers Community College Lady Raiders 56-49 inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center on Saturday night, Jan. 20. The game was part of the Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference schedule for both teams. It was also the Coaches vs. Cancer "Suits and Sneakers" fundraiser night.

The comeback victory was the first for the Lady Roadrunners against Three Rivers since the 2017-2018 season.

Three Rivers led 15-8 at the end of the first quarter. SFCC trimmed the advantage to 23-17 courtesy of a pair of layups from freshman guard Violeta Rojas-Narváez with less than four minutes remaining until halftime.

Three Rivers led 29-25 at halftime. The Lady Raiders pushed their advantage to 40-27 in the third quarter, the 13-point advantage was largest held by either team in the contest. SFCC trimmed the advantage to 43-33 at the end of three quarters. SFCC cut the deficit to 45-41 with less than five minutes remaining in the final quarter. SFCC stormed all the way back to grab a 52-49 lead with 34.2 seconds remaining in the contest.

The Lady Roadrunners outscored Three Rivers 23-6 in the fourth quarter to thrill the large crowd in attendance at the contest. SFCC made their free throws down the stretch to seal the big victory.

"We did what we needed to do to take care of business," said Lady Roadrunners Head Coach Nicole Collier. "I thought Three Rivers had us rattled early in the game. We got sped up. That's what they do. There were several possessions where we executed very well and several where we did not. I thought the difference in the game was we didn't hit free throws early, but we hit them late. We did a great job on the boards. I thought we were very sharp defensively. We were aggressive and assertive. Three Rivers is a super talented team. They are very deep. This win sets a bar for us. We have to keep growing and getting better. Violeta and Kimora McClure came in and gave us some impact minutes off the bench. I was very proud of the effort from our entire team tonight."

Rojas Narváez led the Lady Roadrunners in scoring with 13 points off the bench. Marshall pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds. Jackson finished second on the team in rebounds with 11. Freshman guard Myra Claas, Johnson, and Marshall all tied for the team lead in assists with two each. Rojas-Narváez registered a team-high three steals. Marshall and Jackson registered a blocked shot each.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics