Lady Roadrunners earn milestone victory

February 14 Crowder College at Neosho

The State Fair Community College Lady Roadrunners lost 63-56 in a tough Region 16 game to Crowder College in Neosho on Wednesday, February 14.

SFCC led 17-9 at the end of the first quarter. SFCC led 25-23 at halftime.

Crowder came out strong in the second half and took a 41-33 lead with less than three minutes to go in the third quarter. SFCC cut the deficit to 43-40 at the end of the third quarter. Freshman guard La'Tommas Johnson-Nash stole the ball and scored a layup to tie the score at 43 with seven minutes and 56 seconds remaining in the contest.

Crowder came back to take a 59-48 lead with three minutes and 37 seconds remaining. SFCC trimmed the advantage to 61-56 with less than a minute remaining in the game. Crowder made the plays in the final minute to secure the victory.

Sophomore center Jaida Shipp led SFCC with 11 points. Johnson-Nash contributed 10 points, a team-high three assists and three steals. Sophomore forward Quincenia Jackson pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

February 17 Moberly Area Community College at Sedalia

SFCC (20-5, 5-4 in Region 16) picked up a 68-60 victory over the Moberly Area Community College Lady Greyhounds inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center on Saturday night, February 17 in Sedalia. The game was played in front of a large crowd as part of the Homecoming celebration at SFCC. The back-and-forth battle featured 10 lead changes and six ties and was part of the Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference schedule for both teams.

Moberly led at the end of the first quarter 12-11. SFCC responded with a big second quarter to take a 31-20 lead into the locker room at halftime, courtesy of a three-point shot from freshman guard Nakayla Green as time expired.

"I thought we were able to break the press in the second quarter and find the open person," said Lady Roadrunners Head Coach Nicole Collier. "We were able to knock down some three-point shots and help spread the floor a little bit. Nakayla Green hit some shots for us. We were able to find some open people based on rotations. Our ability to find the open player is what separated us in the second quarter."

SFCC hung on to a 50-44 lead off a basket from Jackson. SFCC converted key free throws to seal the game. With the victory, the Lady Roadrunners became the first SFCC women's basketball team since the 2015-2016 team to win 20 games.

"Moberly brings a lot of energy," said Collier. "They are a tough team that brings a lot of pressure. I thought we did a good job of handling it in the first half. We knew that they were going to turn up their pressure in the second half and we didn't do a very good job of handling that until later. This was a team effort. I thought our bench was good. Jaida Shipp did some good things for us tonight."

Shipp led SFCC with 21 points and 10 rebounds, both team-highs. Freshman guard Kimora McClure contributed 15 points and a team-high four steals. McClure also knocked down 11 free-throw attempts. Green added 14 points. Freshman guard Madison Johnson and freshman guard Myra Claas tied for the team lead in assists with five each.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics