Shooting was at a premium on Friday, November 16 when the MCC Women's Basketball Team took on the Raiders of Central Community College in the 5 PM matchup as part of the Emerson Classic hosted by MCC. Both the Tigers and Raiders came in to the day 1-4 and looking to get their seasons moving in the right direction. The game would come down to the wire, but a big three-point shot, some solid defense, and converting free throws down the stretch propelled the Tigers to victory.
With both teams sitting in laid back zones for the majority of the night, the three-point shot was a huge part of the game. The Tigers attempted 58 shot attempts on the night, 27 of which were from distance. Out of the Raiders 68 attempts from the floor, 25 were from beyond the arc. While neither team shot the three-ball very effectively (both making seven attempts from long range), Clara Solsona, who was previously 1-9 from distance on the night, made the biggest shot of the night when she nailed a trey from the top of the key to put the Tigers up 65-64 with 01:53 left on the clock.
The next minute of play was scoreless before Central began to foul to extend the game. A free-throw by Solsona extended the lead to 66-64. After a defensive stop, the Raiders again fouled Solsona to send her to the line with 25 seconds left on the clock. Again, Solsona was able to convert one of her two attempts to stretch the lead to 67-64. After a Central timeout, they chose to advance the ball and executed a sideline out-of-bound play to score a layup to pull within one at 67-66. This time, the Raiders fouled Danielle Smith. The freshman would make one of her two attempts from the charity stripe to make the score 69-67 with eleven seconds remaining. The Raiders were able to get a good look as Day zchay lon Gardne missed a layup with four seconds remaining. Monica Brooks followed with a put-back attempt and another offensive rebound. This time, she would be fouled by Solsona on the attempt. Brooks went to the line down 69-67 for a pair of free-throws. A make on the first shot brought the score to 69-68. Brooks missed the second attempt and a long rebound was corralled by Solsona who was immediately fouled. This time, Solsona converted both free throw attempts with slightly under two seconds to play. Down by three, the Raiders attempted a three-point shot, but it was too late and offline. The Tigers prevailed 71-68.
Clara Solsona led all scorers with 21 points she was followed by Dana Stokes with 19.
The Tigers are back in action on Saturday, November 17 when they take on Moberly Area Community College.
