Lady Roadrunners pick up critical win over Three Rivers

Sedalia, Mo.-The 12^th-ranked State Fair Community College (SFCC) Lady Roadrunners women's basketball team won a defensive battle 56-48 over 14^th-ranked Three Rivers College on Homecoming on Saturday, Feb. 14 inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center. The game was part of the Region 16 schedule for both teams. The game featured six lead changes and five ties.

SFCC (24-1, 9-1 in Region 16) led 11-9 at the end of the first quarter. The game was tied at 17 at halftime. The men's basketball sophomores were honored during a halftime ceremony.

The Lady Roadrunners got their offense going in the third quarter. Sophomore guard Zoe Newland St. Louis, Mo. splashed home three-point shots on back-to-back possessions to put the Lady Roadrunners in front 34-23 with less than three minutes remaining. The Lady Roadrunners extended their advantage to 40-27 at the end of three quarters.

"I thought both teams were pretty sharp defensively," said Lady Roadrunners head coach Nicole Collier. "I thought Zoe got hot offensively the third quarter. We were able to get the ball moving. We got the ball inside to Ellie Buscher who passed the ball extremely well. We got some baskets around the rim and forced them to come out of their zone."

Three Rivers cranked up their defensive pressure to trim the SFCC lead to 48-42 with about three minutes remaining in regulation.

SFCC made just enough plays in the final moments including several key free throws to secure the victory and thrill the large Homecoming crowd in attendance.

"We love the opportunity to play in front of our home crowd," said Collier. "Our crowds have gotten better and better throughout the year. We appreciate our alumni for coming out today. We are continuing to try to grow our alumni base and get them back on campus and excited about what we are doing."

Freshman guard Chloe Reed of Wentzville, Mo. led the team in scoring with 14 points and led the team in steals with two. Freshman guard Maliyah White added 10 points. Buscher pulled down a team-high 16 rebounds and dished out a team-high seven assists. Sophomore guard/forward Carolyn Foster of O'Fallon, Ill. led the team in blocked shots with one.

SFCC will return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 18 for a game against St. Louis Community College. Tipoff from the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics