Iowa Falls, IA—Estelle Eduardo (Villeurbanne, France/Lycee Ernest Couteaux) scored a team-high 19 points and the Marshalltown Community College women's basketball team held off Ellsworth Community College for a 63-58 victory on the road Wednesday night. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Tigers.
MCC led by as many as 14 in the second half, but the Panthers put together a late run to pull within five, 55-50. Eduardo converted a fast break layup and sank a pair of free throws to seal the game in the closing two minutes. The double-digit scoring effort was the 12th of the season for Eduardo.
Claudia Morente (Girona, Spain/Institut Juame Vicens Vives) added 12 points and Loralei Siliga (Euless, TX/San Leandro) contributed 10 points and eight rebounds. Freshmen Alyssa Roth (Clinton, IA/Northeast) and Nisha Doby (Temple, GA/Temple) each chipped in eight points off the bench.
Both teams traded leads in the opening minutes of the first quarter. Morente put back her own miss for a late lead and the Tigers held a 13-11 edge through the opening frame.
The offense caught fire to start the second half as MCC went on a 12-0 run to jump ahead. Roth buried a pair of three pointers and Doby drained a triple as well to give MCC a 22-11 lead. The Tigers went into the halftime break leading 32-19.
A three-point play from Siliga gave the Tigers a comfortable 37-23 advantage, but the Panthers responded with a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to single digits. Another offensive put-back from Morente closed the third quarter with a 48-38 lead in favor of MCC.
Doby connected on her second trey of the night to open the fourth quarter. Leading by 13, the Tiger offense stalled which allowed the Panthers to go on a 12-4 run as MCC's lead dwindled to just five, 55-50. Roth stepped up on the defensive end to force a turnover and found a streaking Eduardo for the fast-break bucket. An up-and-under layup from Barbara Araoz (Nequeun, Argentina/Maria Auxiliadota) extended the lead as MCC left Dittmer Gymnasium with a victory.
Having played four games in the last nine days, including three road trips, the Tigers welcome a week long break. MCC travels to Little Priest Tribal College on Jan. 18.
