Shooting proved to be the difference when the Iowa Central Tritons Women's Basketball Team came to Visit MCC on Tuesday, November 18 for a 6 PM matchup. The Tritons shot an efficient 64.2% from the field including 44.4% from the arc. They also shot 100% from the free throw stripe. The Tigers on the other hand struggled from the field as they shot 36.7% including 20% from three-point range. They converted seven of their ten free throw attempts to go 70%.
The first half saw the visiting team come out gunning as they made 20 of their 28 attempts from the floor. Meanwhile the Tigers were only able to finish 7 of their 29 shots. Going into the half, Iowa Central had built a sizeable lead at 47-21. 21 of the Triton points came via the three-point shot as Avery Terwilliger caught fire in the second quarter on her way to a game-high 20 points on 8-11 shooting including 4-6 from deep.
In the second half, the Tigers looked much improved at times. In the third quarter, MCC was able to nearly double their score from the first two quarters combined as they scored 20 points in the period. A new approach was evident as the Tigers attempted just 5 shots beyond the arc in the third quarter compared to 13 in the first quarter and 12 in the second. Meanwhile, the Tritons of Iowa Central were able to hang with the Tigers and slightly extend their lead as they scored 25 points in the third.
With Iowa Central resting some of their key contributors in the fourth quarter, the Tigers took advantage. Again they did so from inside the three point line as they put up 17 points in the final quarter with only 5 of the 14 attempts coming from long range. With the bulk of the starters sitting for the Tritons, their offense sputtered to just 9 points in the fourth.
Tigers Head Coach, Steve Garber, saw the difference between the two halves. "We did a good job of being aggressive in the second half to score" he said. "It was the most we scored in a half this year and we need to continue that progress while working on the defensive end".
The Tigers defense was sporadic throughout the contest as they were able to force 20 Triton turnovers, however, they were unable to close out to shooters at times. Avery Terwilliger and Tierra Itula led the way for the Tritons with 20 and 18 points apiece while shooting a combined 16-21 from the floor with 6 of their 10 three-point shots finding the bottom of the net. Meanwhile, the Tigers were paced by freshman guard Eva Caballo with 19.
The Tigers will be back in action on Friday, November 16 when they, along with the men's team, host the Emerson Classic.
