REBEL GIRLS BEAT RED ROCK CENTRAL

The MCC Rebel Girls looked to start the season with a three game winning streak. To do that the Rebels needed to beat the 0-2 Red Rock Central Falcons on Tuesday night. The Falcons have had their struggles the last two seasons as they have had to rely on younger players at the varsity level without a great deal of depth. The Rebels were able to use their depth and defensive aggressiveness to come away with another strong victory.

The Rebels had won their first two games of the season by relying on their defense to create shots and that didn’t change on Tuesday. In the Rebels first home game of the season, MCC forced 24 first half turnovers. The Rebels didn’t have a huge offensive game in the first half, but they scored 39 points on their way to a 24 point first half lead. Kate Blankenship led the way for the Rebels scoring 9 first half points but also contributed with rebounds and had some of the best passes of the night. The Rebels showed great balance, with four of their starters scoring six points or more in the first half. Red Rock Central, on the other hand, managed just 15 total points with no one scoring more than 4. The Rebels led at the break 39 to 15.

The second half didn’t get easier for the Falcons. They didn’t see as much full court pressure in the second half as the pace slowed down, but the Falcons stll turned the ball over 14 times and scored just 4 second half points. MCC improved their rebounding in the second half and only turned the ball over 5 times in the final 18 minutes. The Rebels got everyone into the game as they pulled away for a 71 to 19 win.

Reese Gilbertson led the way with 7 second half points while Kat Miller and Ava Deacon scored six points each. The Rebels picked up their first Red Rock Conference win of the season.

The Rebels forced the Falcons into 38 turnovers while giving the ball away 17 times themselves. The Rebels made 37 percent of their shots from the field in the game while the Falcons made 17 percent. The Rebels outrebounded the Falcons by 22 rebounds in the game.

The Rebels were led in scoring by Kat Miller with 14, Reese Gilbertson added 13, and Calleigh Doeden added 12. Ava Deacon had 9 points and 9 steals in the game while Kate Blankenship had a great all around game with 9 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Falcons were led by Ally Linder’s 6 points and Brailynn Olson’s 6.

The Rebels will face their toughest game of the season at WWG on Friday night in an attempt to start the season 4-0.