Marshalltown, IA—The Marshalltown Community College women's basketball team made a statement in its first-ever Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Division I contest on Saturday night, knocking off No. 4 and previously undefeated Iowa Western Community College in convincing fashion, 59-41. The Tigers improve to 12-7 on the year and are 1-0 in league play.
The Tigers never trailed against the Reivers, who entered the day with an unblemished 20-0 record. MCC used a stifling defense that limited Iowa Western to just 28.3 percent shooting on the night, including a 9.1 percent clip from three-point range.
MCC forced 27 Reiver turnovers on the night, scoring 25 points off of the miscues. Jasmin Howe (Millicent, Australia/Millicent) scored 15 first-half points and finished with a game-high 22 points. Jamerka Martin (Milwaukee, WI/Rufus King) knocked down four three-point shots to finish with 16 points in the upset.
Courtney Williams-Perry (Milwaukee, WI/Bradley Tech) corralled a game-high 15 rebounds while scoring six points and Sammie Sproul (Waterloo, IA/Waterloo West) scored five points, collected five assists, and grabbed five rebounds.
Martin set the tone from the opening tip on Saturday, scoring five straight points to open the night. Howe connected on back-to-back three-point shots to give the Tigers a double-digit lead, 13-3 just 3:40 into the contest. MCC held the Reivers without a field goal for 4:27 midway through the half, but the Tiger offense also fell silent for a stretch.
Iowa Western brought the game within four at one point, but Howe hit a jump shot and buried another three to pull away. The Reivers failed to score in the final 3:44 of the first half, and the top-ranked offense in the ICCAC was held to just 14 points as MCC led by 11 at the break.
The Tigers managed to score just two points in the first 6:25 of the second half, but the defense was able to secure the lead. Martin drained two threes in the span of just over a minute to put MCC up 12, 35-23 with 11:59 to play. Iowa Western never cut the deficit to single-digits again as MCC built its lead to as much as 20 to shock the Reivers.
The win is the first over the Reivers since the Tigers pulled off a 73-60 win on Feb. 25, 2012, also at the Student Activity Center, but as a member of the ICCAC Division II.
Next up for the Tigers is a road date with conference opponent Northeast Community College at 5:00 PM on Jan. 21.
(Photo caption: L-R Jasmin Howe, Jamerka Martin, and Ilsie Calles celebrate following the Tigers' upset victory over No. 4 Iowa Western Saturday night. Photo credit- Tyler Strand/Times Republican)
