Tigers rally, fall late to No. 15 Kirkwood 71-60

Marshalltown, IA—The Marshalltown Community College women’s basketball team rallied from a 14-point deficit but fell late to No. 15 Kirkwood Community College 71-60 on Wednesday night at the Student Activity Center.

Tigers rally, fall late to No. 15 Kirkwood 71-60
February 12, 2014

Marshalltown, IA—The Marshalltown Community College women's basketball team rallied from a 14-point deficit but fell late to No. 15 Kirkwood Community College 71-60 on Wednesday night at the Student Activity Center. Jamerka Martin (Milwaukee, WI/Rufus King) scored a team-high 14 points.

The Tigers trailed 34-24 at halftime and built their lead to 14 in the opening minutes of the second. Leading 53-40 midway through the second, MCC went on a 13-0 run to tie the game and stay in contention. Kirkwood answered with six of the next seven points and held the Tigers to just one field goal in the final 6:15 to pick up the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) victory.

With the loss, the Tigers fall one game behind Kirkwood in the conference standings, dropping to fourth place with a 7-5 record while the Eagles improve to 8-4.

Martin was one of four Tigers to reach double-figures, joining Mackenzie Gott (Oskaloosa, IA/Oskaloosa) with 13, Jasmin Howe (Millicent, Australia/Millicent) with 12 and Ashley Salgado (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) with 10. Salgado dished out seven assists, her seventh straight game with at least five assists.

Courtney Williams-Perry (Milwaukee, WI/Bradley Tech) grabbed 14 rebounds, including 10 in the second half but the Tigers lost the rebounding battle 40-37.

Gott scored four points in the opening minutes of the first half and Martin knocked down a three as the Tigers held a 7-2 advantage. The Eagles answered with a 13-1 run of their own to pull ahead, but Martin drained another three to keep the Tigers within striking distance. The Eagles eventually built their lead to double-digits but Danielle Montgomery (Beaman, IA/BCLUW) converted a three-point play at the 8:51 mark to cut the deficit to five. Kirkwood held MCC to just two field goals in the final 5:17, both coming in the closing minute, to take the 10-point lead at the break.

The Eagles held on to the double-digit advantage to open the second frame until MCC went on its run. Gott sparked the Tigers during the stretch, hitting six points, all in the paint. Gott's jumper at the 6:15 mark was the final basket for the Tigers until Howe hit a three with just four seconds to play.

The Tigers travel to Des Moines Area Community College on Saturday for an ICCAC showdown. The Bears are currently 6-5 in league play. The Tigers hold the tiebreaker over DMACC from a 68-67 victory on Jan. 11.