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Marshalltown, IA—Sophomore JeAnn Hiraldo (Ames, IA/Ames) scored a career-high 34 points to lead the Marshalltown Community College Women's Basketball team to a 74-51 victory over Missouri Valley JV on the opening night of the Emerson Classic. Hiraldo was one of three players to reach double figures for MCC in the Student Activity Center Friday night.
Hiraldo's big night was escalated in the second half as the sophomore scored 20 points over the final two quarters of play. Hiraldo shot 12-21 from the floor overall, including 3-6 from three-point range. Hiraldo, this week's Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Athlete of the Week, also corralled eight rebounds to go along with four assists, two steals, and two blocks in the win.
Joining Hiraldo in double-figures were Accacia Huff (Peoria, IL/Central) with a career-high 16 and Barbara Araoz (Neuquen, Argentina/Maria Auxiliadota) with 10. Both players recorded a double-double as Huff pulled down 10 rebounds while Araoz passed out a personal-best 11 assists to pace the Tiger offense.
As a team the Tigers passed out 18 assists on 26 field goal attempts as the home team shot 47.3 percent from the floor, a season-best mark. The Tigers also hit seven three-point shots for the second consecutive game and reached another team-high with a 41.2 percentage behind the arc.
The Tigers jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first quarter after Shyanon Wolf (Tama, IA/Meskwaki) drained a three, but the Vikings took a 13-11 lead after the first 10 minutes. Hiraldo was held scoreless in the first quarter to make her feat that much more impressive.
Hiraldo's first four points in the second quarter came from the free throw line, but the sophomore drained her first field goal, a three-pointer, to pull MCC within three, 25-22 with three minutes to play. Wolf knocked down her second three under a minute later to tie the game. Hiraldo scored seven of the final nine points of the half, including a three with four seconds remaining to give the Tigers a 34-29 halftime advantage.
Hiraldo continued to find the basket, scoring the first four points of the third quarter. The sophomore scored 11 points in the frame while Huff scored six and grabbed four rebounds as MCC outscored its opponent 21-7 in the third to pull away.
The Tigers outscored Missouri Valley 19-15 in the final quarter, led by nine points from Hiraldo to give MCC its second consecutive win by at least 23 points. The Tigers defeated Little Priest Tribal College 77-50 on Nov. 14.
Hiarldo's previous career-high was 23 points in the team's season-opener this season. The sophomore is averaging 21.3 points per game which ranks first by almost seven full points in the ICCAC.
In the Emerson Classic opening game on Friday night, Des Moines Area Community College held off Mineral Area College 75-67.
The Tigers will take on Mineral Area at 4:00 PM on Saturday, the final day of the Emerson Classic. DMACC and Missouri Valley JV will matchup at 2:00 PM in the Student Activity Center.
