The MCC Rebels played one of their best halves of basketball this season in Lamberton against the Red Rock Central Falcons. That night the Rebels played a strong first half but struggled in the second half when they got sped up. Friday night going fast wasn’t an issue for either team as both teams would take their time on offense for different reasons. The Falcons were missing Karli Arkel inside which took away one of their top rebounders who could help trigger the fastbreak. The Rebels took more time than usual to get the ball inside against the now smaller Falcons.
The first half was about four players, one Rebel and three Falcons. The first player was Sondra Rindfleisch, a 6’0” junior post player who has been solid all year for the Falcons. She picked up two early fouls in the game and spent almost all of it on the bench without scoring a single point. With her on the bench, it brings us to MCC Rebel Emily Rohrer. The Falcons didn’t have anyone taller than 5’9” to defend the 6’2” senior center. Rohrer would use her height to her advantage by scoring 8 first-half points leading the Rebels. MCC was in the game or in the lead throughout the first half but the Falcons would take the lead based on their two perimeter players. Lilly Stavness had a huge first half against the Rebels in Lamberton and though she didn’t score as many points on Friday she still scored 10. Emily DeCock on the other hand was hot from the three-point line knocking down four threepointers for 12 points. The Falcons led at the half 26 to 14.
In the second half, the Falcons would make a big early run led by Stavness and DeCock who remained hot through halftime. DeCock would score another 8 points early on while Stavness was consistent breaking the Rebels down for another 13 points. While the Falcon duo was doing the job on the outside Rohrer was keeping her team around the best she could scoring another 12 points. Rohrer scored all of her points in the paint. The Falcons put the Rebels away because of Rindfleisch who scored 11 secondhalf points making 5 free throws and three shots from the field. MCC couldn’t find that second or third scorer that would help Rohrer out. The Falcons would pull away for the win 61 to 37.
Emily Rohrer led the Rebels with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Seanna Swenson and Abby Overman each scored 6 points but the rest of the roster scored 5. Lilly Stavness finished with 23 points, Emily DeCock had 20, and Rindfleisch chipped in with 11. The difference in the game was the three-point line as both teams shot a similar percentage from the field 38% to 36%. The Rebels didn’t make a three-point shot while RRC made 11. It was a tough loss for MCC because there was a chance at a victory but you have to score points and you can’t allow hot shooters to get open over and over again. The Rebels couldn’t dwell on this game very long because they had to take on LQPV the following morning at 11:00 am.
