Marshalltown, IA—The Marshalltown Community College women's basketball team held off a second half rally from Iowa Lakes Community College on Wednesday night as the Tigers picked up their second straight Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) win with a 62-52 win on Wednesday night. The Tigers improve to 12-4 overall and 3-3 in league play.
MCC held a sizeable lead over the Lakers in the first half and went into halftime with a 37-18 advantage. Mackenzie Gott (Oskaloosa, IA/Oskaloosa), the Tigers second leading scorer and leading rebounder on the year, sustained a first half injury that forced MCC to go with a smaller lineup. The Lakers responded by opening the second half on an 22-7 run to pull within five.
The difference maker came at the free throw line as the Tigers sank 7-8 from the stripe in the final seven minutes while the Lakers hit just 5-13. In a game the featured 42 fouls, the Tigers shot 20-31 from the line while the Lakers shot just 12-23, including 8-17 in the second half.
Jamerka Martin (Milwaukee, WI/Rufus King) paced the Tigers with 21 points on the night with 18 coming in the first half. Martin knocked down three of the team's four three-point shots on the night. Ashley Salgado (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) led the Tigers from the point guard position with 12 points, four assists, and four steals.
MCC shot 48 percent from the floor in the first half but connected on just 30.4 percent in the second half. Both teams fought to a draw in the rebounding column with 39 apiece. Freshman Danielle Montgomery (Beaman, IA/BCLUW) grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds on the night while adding six points.
The Tigers played a nearly flawless first six minutes of the game as MCC scored the game's first 11 points. Martin knocked down a three and followed up with a pair of free throws to MCC ahead 16-5 with under 12 minutes to play. The Lakers brought the game to within four until the Tigers went on a 15-0 run with all scoring coming from Martin, Salgado, and Ilsie Calles (Van Nuys, CA/Fulton Prep). The Tigers held Iowa Lakes to just three points over the final 6:26 of the half.
The Lakers scored the first six points to open the second half and continued to fight back as MCC held a slim 45-40 lead at the 10:41 mark. The Tiger defense tightened up and held the Lakers to just three field goals over the final 10:41 to take the win and reach the .500 mark in league play.
Next up for the Tigers will be a trip to Northeast Community College for a 5:00 PM contest on Saturday as part of a doubleheader with the men's teams.
