Lady Roadrunners battle but fall short in Region 16 Tournament Championship Game

March 12 Mineral Area College at Park Hills

The third-seeded State Fair Community College (SFCC) Lady Roadrunners defeated the second-seeded and 24^th ranked Mineral Area College Lady Cardinals 78-57 in the semifinal round of the Region 16 playoffs in Park Hills on Tuesday, March 12.

SFCC (22-7) used a hot shooting start to take a 15-7 lead. The quick start was keyed by three three-point baskets from freshman guard Kayla Sullivan. SFCC led 21-13 at the end of the first quarter and took a 44-27 lead into halftime.

SFCC led by 20 points with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Lady Cardinals refused to go away, cut the lead to nine points at the end of the quarter. However, that would be as close as Mineral Area would get for the remainder of the contest, as SFCC answered with a run to lead the game 63-48 with under eight minutes remaining, courtesy of two baskets from sophomore center Jaida Shipp.

The Lady Roadrunners made the free throws late and handled the intense full-court trapping defense to secure the victory and punched their ticket to the Region 16 Tournament Championship Game.

Sullivan registered a double-double with 27 points, including four three-point field goals and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line. Sullivan also pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds. Shipp contributed 16 points. Freshman guard Kimora McClure added 12 points. Freshman guard Myra Claas pitched in with 11 points and a team-high five assists. Freshman guard Madison Johnson registered a team-high three steals.

March 15 Three Rivers Community College at Poplar Bluff

SFCC (22-8) gave the top-seeded and 13^th-ranked Three Rivers Community College Lady Raiders all they wanted before falling 79-66 in the Region 16 Tournament Championship Game in Poplar Bluff on Friday, March 15.

Three Rivers opened the game with a 13-6 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the opening quarter. The Lady Raiders pushed the advantage to 24-12 at the end of the first quarter and led 44-31 at halftime.

SFCC trimmed the advantage to 44-34 early in the third quarter. Three Rivers responded with a run of their own to push the advantage back to 54-38 with less than five minutes remaining. However, SFCC cut the deficit back to 10 with one minute and 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Claas splashed home a huge three-point shot to get SFCC back within six points at 66-60 with six minutes and 54 seconds remaining in the contest. Three Rivers made just enough plays in the final minutes to hang on and secure the victory.

McClure led SFCC in scoring with 21 points and a team-high two steals. Claas contributed 20 points and a team-high three assists. Sullivan added 11 points. Shipp pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds in the game.

The 22 wins this season for the Lady Roadrunners are the most wins since the 2015-2016 Lady Roadrunners also recorded 22 victories.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics