Marshalltown, IA—Jasmine Howe (Millicent, Australia/Millicent) posted a double-double in her collegiate debut to lead the Marshalltown Community College women's basketball team to a season-opening 74-57 victory at home over MCC-Penn Valley on Saturday afternoon. The win was the first for head coach Steve Garber as a member of the Tigers.
Howe dropped a game-high 23 points for the Tigers to go along with 11 rebounds, including seven in the first half. Sophomore Mackenzie Gott (Oskaloosa, IA/Oskaloosa) also registered a double-double for the Tigers with 11 points and 10 rebounds in just 14 minutes of action in the second half. Ashley Salgado (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) came off the bench to lead the Tigers with five assists while freshman guard Ilsie Calles (Van Nuys, CA/Fulton Prep) stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, four assists, two steals and nine points on the day.
Garber praised the all-around effort from the Tigers who have had little time to field a full squad throughout the preseason. Multiple players on the team are two-sport athletes or suffered injuries prior to the start of the season. "For a team that has not practiced together too often, we were very organized today," said Garber. "We were able to stay on the same page. It was good to see our young players perform well out there this afternoon."
Howe opened up the game with the team's first eight points as the Tigers led 8-7 early on. Rusty Henio (Tama, IA/Pine Hill) provided a spark off the bench for MCC, scoring seven of the team's next 10 points. MCC slowly pulled away as Salgado drove the lane to connect on a layup to give the Tigers a 26-16 advantage. Howe drilled two three-point shots in the final three minutes of the half as MCC went into the locker room leading 36-22. Howe finished the first half with 14 points.
The Scouts opened the second half on an 8-0 run to cut into the Tigers' lead. MCC failed to hit a field goal until Gott entered the game, hitting a jumpshot at the 14:13 mark to give the Tigers a 41-34 lead. Jamerka Martin (Milwaukee, WI/Rufus King) netted her first three-point shot of the game and Calles followed up with a three and a layup, both on assists from Howe, to build MCC's lead back to double-digits, 49-38.
Howe put the game out of reach with her fourth three-point shot of the day, giving the Tigers a 61-48 lead. MCC held off the Scouts in large part to its defensive effort late in the second half, allowing just two field goals over the final nine minutes.
"We had a strong first half," Garber expressed. "We came out a little slow to open the second half but we were able to bounce back and finish strong."
The Tigers limited their opponents to just 29.3 percent shooting on the day, including just 6-30 in the first half. MCC controlled the glass, outrebounding the Scouts 51-28. The Tigers assisted on 19 of the team's 26 field goals.
The Tigers return to action with a home game against Grand View College JV on Nov. 7 at 7:00 PM.
