MCC GIRLS BEGIN BASKETBALL SEASON AT WABASSO INVITATIONAL

GAME 1 - MCC VS. WABASSO

The MCC Rebels opened their girls basketball season on Friday night in Wabasso. The Rebels have never won a game at the Wabasso Invitational, losing their games to the likes of Wabasso. Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop, and MACCRAY over the last several years. It’s a tough way to start a season because you play a Friday night game and follow it up with a Saturday morning game. Two games in less than 24 hours is a challenge, but it allows coaches to see what their team has. The Rebels would show some great defense on their way to their first win of the season.

The Rebels opened their season against the Wabasso Rabbits, a team that had won just one game last season, compared to the Rebels’ 9 victories. The Rebels’ defense was outstanding in this game, as the Rebels would never trail. In fact, the Rebels didn’t allow the Rabbits to score for eight minutes and fifteen seconds. The Rebels first half was dominated by Ava Deacon. One expects seniors to step up their game heading into their final season and Deacon showed that. She scored 18 points in the first half, making 6 free throws and 6 shots from the field. The Rabbits would score just 13 first half points with Ava Samyn and Elizabeth Morin each scoring 4 points. The Rebels led at the break, 28 to 13.

The second half would see the Rebels play a similar style as the first half, forcing turn-overs that led to open shots. The Rebels were able to show more balance in the second half offensively. The Rabbits also scored more points in the second half, but their deficit was greater. The first game of any season is always a feeling out process, especially for teams playing younger players making their first varsity starts. Both teams struggled to get their footing, but the Rebels defense led them to a 55 to 35 win.

The biggest key was turnovers in this game. Wabasso turned the ball over 36 times while MCC gave the ball away 22 times. The Rabbits made 8 free throws, while the Rebels made 12. The Rabbits did out rebound the Rebels 35 to 31, but it wasn’t enough to make up the difference in turnovers. Kenley Guetter scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Rabbits. Ava Deacon led the Rebels with 25 points, 11 steals, and 5 rebounds. Kate Blankenship and Calleigh Doeden scored 10 points each for the Rebels. The Rebels picked up their first ever win in the Wabasso invitational.

GAME 2 - MCC GIRLS VS. GFW The MCC Rebel Girls would turn around quickly and play the Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop Firebirds on Saturday morning at 10:00 am. The Rebels played two games in about fourteen hours. The Rebels played an even better game Saturday than they did on Friday night. Though the turnaround can be very hard to do, the Rebels played strong, starting the season 2-0.

The Firebirds lost their first game of the season on Friday night to WWG. GFW struggled with the Chargers inside game. On Saturday, they struggled with the Rebels pressure even more than Wabasso did. MCC would force the Firebirds into 23 first half turnovers and many of those would result in an open shot for MCC. Calleigh Doeden had a great first half scoring 13 first points. She had help. Ava Deacon struggled to make shots early, but ended the half with 6 points, Mikayla Reith added 5, as did Kat Miller. Taylor Bauer scored 7 in the first half for GFW but the Rebels led at the half 32 to 24.

The Rebels would play even better in the second half. MCC forced the Firebirds into 19 more turnovers, while they gave up the ball 10 times. MCC did a much better job of rebounding in this game than against the Rabbits. The Firebirds are a much smaller team. Kat Miller exploded in the second half, scoring 14 points, including 3 three point shots. Ava Deacon was solid for the Rebels, adding ten points to her first half total. If that wasn’t enough for the Rebels, Reese Gilbertson would score eight points in the final eighteen minutes. The Rebels scored 40 second-half points while holding the Firebirds to 21, getting the win, 72 to 45.

The Rebels again dominated the game by forcing turnovers. MCC forced the Firebirds into 42 turnovers, while the Rebels had half that number. MCC also made 11 more free throws than the Firebirds did. Taylor Bauer scored 10 points to lead GFW in scoring. MCC got great balance in this game. Kat Miller scored 19 points, Calleigh Doeden added 17, Ava Deacon 16, and Reese Gilbertson finished with her 8. The Rebels will play Tuesday night at RTR for their first Red Rock Conference game. The Knights are 0-1 losing to TMB on Friday night. The Rebels will go into that game at 2-0 looking for their third win of the season.