Marshalltown, IA—The Marshalltown Community College women's basketball team opened up play at the 2014 Emerson JUCO Classic in impressive fashion, scoring at least 90 points for the second straight game in defeating Highland Community College 92-59. Jamerka Martin (Milwaukee, WI/Rufus King) led five scorers in double-figures with 23 points.
An early deficit proved to be little trouble for the Tigers as MCC cruised past the Tigers to improve to 3-1 on the year. Freshman JeAnn Hiraldo (Ames, IA/Ames) posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Kaleigh Sieck (Toledo, IA/South Tama) came off the bench to hit four three-point shots, finishing the night with 14 points. Jasmin Howe (Millicent, Australia/Millicent) and Birana McGinty (Milwaukee, WI/Bradley Tech) totaled 13 and 11, respectively.
As a team, the Tigers shot 53.5 percent from the floor while holding the Cougars to just 28.8 percent, including 5-24 from three-point range. MCC outrebounded Highland 48-38. Along with Hiraldo, Courtney Williams-Perry (Milwaukee, WI/Bradley Tech) totaled 11 rebounds in just 15 minutes of action. Sammie Sproul controlled the court, dishing out a game-high nine assists.
The Cougars drained four of their first five shots from the floor to build a 10-4 lead over the Tigers. Sieck provided a spark off the bench, draining back-to-back three-point shots to put MCC ahead 14-12. MCC closed out the first half on a 19-7 run to pull away.
After scoring nine points on just 3-9 shooting in the first half, Martin heated up in the second half. The sophomore went 5-7 from the floor, including 2-3 from beyond the arc. The Tigers shot 63.9 percent as a team in the final 20 minutes, and buried six of their final nine three-point shots to take the victory on the opening night of the two-day classic.
In Friday's opening game, Mineral Area College defeated Des Moines Area Community College 81-60. DMACC and Highland will open up play Saturday at 2:00 PM while the Tigers and Mineral Area will play at 4:00 PM.
