STLCC women fall in opening round of NJCAA Tourney

Archers Burned by Thunderbirds’ Heat

The St. Louis Community College women’s basketball team found out the hard way that you can’t keep a good player down for long.

Mesa Community College’s Allie Gloyd, the Region I Player of the Year who leads the team in scoring, netted all 16 of her points in the second half. She also pulled down 16 rebounds to pace the No. 5 seed Thunderbirds to a 65-61 win over the Archers today (March 21) in the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association Women’s Division II Tournament at Illinois Central College.

The Archers (20-9) dominated play in the first half, scoring 18 of their 27 points off turnovers, and collected 11 offensive rebounds while completely shutting down Gloyd. The Archers led by as many as 10 points during the opening 20 minutes, and held a two-point advantage at the half.

Mesa turned up its defensive pressure in the second half, and also used its height advantage to control the boards at both ends of the floor. The Archers, who had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half, were limited to six in the second half, and were out-rebounded by Mesa 61-40 for the game.

The Archers’ Shakaunna Futrell (Hazelwood West), a 5-5 freshman guard, led all scorers with 18 points, despite being harassed by the 6-1 Gloyd for much of the second half.

Mesa, which committed 29 turnovers, led by 10 points with about 4-1/2 minutes left in the contest. STLCC tried to stage a late rally as Futrell hit a floater in the lane, and Datona Ball (Quincy, Ill.) converted a layup and free throw to pull STLCC to within six points with 15 seconds left in the game. Jade Wilson, who scored 14 points for Mesa, then hit one of two free throws before the Archers’ Megan Hawkins (Fort Zumwalt East) hit a 3-point shot with four second left to complete the scoring.

Ball finished with 14 points and 18 rebounds, while Cierra Gaines (Edwardsville) also hit double figures in scoring with 11 points. Futrell, Ball and Gaines each logged 33-plus minutes for the Archers.

With the loss, the 12^th-seeded Archers move into the consolation bracket and will face either fourth-seeded Louisburg or No. 13-seeded Chesapeake at 11 a.m. Thursday (March 22).