GIRLS WIN LAST GAME OF REGULAR SEASON

The MCC Rebel Girls wrapped up their regular basketball season on Monday night (February 19) in Lamberton. The Rebels took on the Red Rock Central Falcons for the second time this season. Earlier this year, the Rebels beat the Falcons in Slayton 62 to 37. That was the first win for the Rebels over RRC since 2012. That means the Rebels had never beat the Falcons on their home court in Lamberton. The Falcons had played their home games before 2016-2017 in Jeffers but made the switch that season. The Rebels have lost in so many different ways in Lamberton. They were hoping in their final game in the gym, they would get that first win. The Falcons got the early lead in this game, as Ella Erickson made a three-point shot to start the scoring. The Falcons held a small lead for the first four minutes of the game, but then the turnovers started to pile up and the Rebels started to score. Lily Daniels started the game strong, getting her hands on several passes, creating turnovers and then hitting two three-point shots, before finishing the half with a layup. Kate Blankenship got into the game and immediately started to score. She would lead the Rebels, along with Daniels, with 8 points in the first half. The Rebels were up 14 points before the Falcons scored the final 5 points of the half to make the halftime score 32 to 24.

The second half would see the Rebels start slowly struggling to score. The Falcons cut the Rebel lead down to two points. Ella Erickson led the way with 11 second-half points. The Rebels did not give up the lead. With Thea Schneider scoring a couple of baskets and Jayda Hellewell scoring an early five points, the lead bounced back to nine points. The Falcons came back once again, as the Rebels missed free throws and couldn’t convert on opportunities created by their defense. The Falcons tied the game late, but the Rebels found a way at the free throw line to pick up a hard-fought win 50 to 47.

The Rebels dominated the turnover stats giving the ball away just 9 times while creating 32 turnovers by the Falcons. MCC was able to shoot 79 times in this game while the Falcons shot just 36 times. The Rebels shot 21 free throws in the game compared to the Falcons 16. The Rebels made 19 shots from the field while the Falcons made 15. The Falcons made 41% of their shots as the Rebels only made 24%. The Rebels were led in scoring by Jayda Hellewell with 11 points, while Kate Blankenship and Thea Schneider each scored 10. Lily Daniels finished the game with 8 points and 7 steals.

The Rebels will go to the playoffs with a 9 and 17 record taking on HLOF on Thursday night in Slayton at 7:00 PM.