Port Huron, Mich. - The ICC women's basketball team suffered a 75-62 setback to Muskegon Community College (MI) in the opening round of the NJCAA National Tournament in Port Huron, MI.  The Cougars (24-10) came into the tourney as the #4 overall seed but the #13-seeded Jayhawks (24-5) played with a chip on their shoulder and took control in the second half to earn the win.  The Cougars now drop to the consolation bracket to play #12 Edison State while MCC advanced to the Elite Eight where they will face #5 Bryant & Stratton.  

Cierra McNamee got ICC off to a good start as she sank two free throws and an inside basket but the offense stalled as the Jayhawks took a 9-4 lead.  Kayla Gordon took a charge to get the defense on track while Dayja Evans ignited the offense with two three-pointers (assists T'yana Lovelace & Derria Edwards) along with a Kyleigh Block layup to tie the score at 14-all at the end of one quarter.

Gordon hit a runner, Kristyn Mitchell scored inside (assist Peyton Dearing), and Gordon had another score to put ICC up 22-19.  Evans cashed in another trey (assist Block) and Lovelace made a layup (assist Courtney Jones) to give ICC their largest lead at 27-21 midway through the period, but defensive breakdowns allowed MCC to hit two open treys to catch back up at 27-all.  Laisha Armendariz-Lopez hit a runner and the Cougars added two free throws to trail 32-31 at the half.

The Cougars needed a strong start to the half to get momentum on their side but instead Muskegon forced two turnovers and added three straight scores to take a 38-31 lead.  Jones and McNamee combined for scores but the Cougars could not get the defensive stops they needed as MCC took a 47-37 lead midway through the period.  The Cougars put together a run to close the quarter as Gordon, McNamee, and Keijah Gray combined for eight points but the MCC offense stayed on the attack as they took a 51-45 lead heading into the final quarter.

MCC hit back-to-back treys on their first two possessions and despite an Evans runner and scores by Mitchell, McNamee, and Block, the Jayhawks still held a 59-53 advantage.  Unfortunately, that was as close as ICC would get as Muskegon connected on an old-fashioned three-point play on the next possession and then hit free throws down the stretch to stave off any chance for a Cougar comeback.

Final stats showed MCC hitting on 7-19 from three-point range with a 42-39 rebounding edge, while ICC hit on only 3-19 from long-distance and committed 21 turnovers on the day.  

"We need to give Muskegon credit as they kept us off-balance the entire game," head coach Karrie Redeker said. "They wanted to prove they were better than a #13 seed and were very motivated and it showed."

"They had an answer to every run we made and we just didn't get enough defensive stops to get control of the game.  We have no choice but to pull our boot straps up and fight to get a win tomorrow to extend our season," Redeker said.

As is the case with the double-elimination format of the National Tournament, the Cougars will need to defeat Edison State tomorrow afternoon to extend their stay at the National Tournament.

Leaders
Cierra McNamee | 16 pts, 11 reb
Dayja Evans | 13 pts, 3 asts
Kayla Gordon | 10 pts, 6 reb, 1 chg taken 

Next Game:
7th Place Quarterfinal Game
#4 ICC COUGARS (24-10)
vs. #12 Edison State (29-1)
Thursday, March 17th, 2022
@ SC4 Fieldhouse - Port Huron, MI
12:00 PM CST Tipoff
Live Video ($)
Live Audio (Free)