REBELS EDGED BY FALCONS

The MCC Rebel Girls were in Lamberton on Monday night to take on the Falcons. Earlier this season, the Rebels lost after leading by seven points in the second half, as the two teams’ centers played great. Monday, the Rebels would again lead by seven just to see the lead slip away, but this game wasn’t dominated by the centers. In fact, this game was dominated by defense and missed opportunities. The Rebels would lose another winnable game by not taking advantage of the chances they were given and created. The Falcons took the early lead in this game with Emily De-Cock and Sondra Rindfleisch, who combined for eight quick points. The game was played at a slow pace and the offenses for both teams were struggling. MCC would come back strong, led by Jayda Hellewell and Abby Overman. The Rebels built a 17 to 10 lead in the first half with just three players scoring. The Falcons went on a nine-to-nothing run to end the first half, taking a 19-17 lead at the half. The Rebels missed free throws and ten turnovers were costly.

The second half would start slowly for both teams, but Reilly Hubin scored 9 second-half points to keep the Falcons in the lead. MCC would get within one and the Falcons hit a three. Unlike the first game, when Rindfleisch and Seanna Swenson both scored over twenty points in the game, this time, neither would make it to ten. The Falcons got themselves into major foul trouble down the stretch of the game with Emily DeCock and Alyssa Cowan both fouling out. The problem for MCC was - they couldn’t score. The Rebels had so many chances but they just could not score. The Rebels would get a couple of late shots up, including one at the buzzer that wasn’t close and RRC got the win 39-37.

In what was a frustrating game for both teams, the Falcons would get the win. What was the difference in the game? MCC shot 3 of 13 from the free throw line while the Falcons made 8 total, 7 coming in the second half. The Falcons made 7 three-point shots worth over half their points in the game, while MCC made 4. When a team can’t make over 50% of their free throws and struggle to make open shots inside of 5 feet, you will struggle to beat anyone. Right now the Rebels are struggling to do those things on a regular basis. Abby Overman led the Rebels with 13 points and Casey Miller added 8. Only 6 Rebels scored and two of the six only made one single shot from the field. RRC won the game without a player scoring double figures. The Rebels next game is Friday in Edgerton against Southwest Minnesota Christian.