McLennan outlasts Murray State in NJCAA Tournament
Saneea Bevley scored her only points of the game on a 3-point goal with 44 seconds left in overtime and a free throw following a steal on the other end, and No. 14 seed McLennan Community College survived No. 19 seed Murray State (Okla.) for a 50-47 victory Thursday in the NJCAA Tournament at the Rip Griffin Center.
"I think we've done a good job of overcoming adversity throughout the year," McLennan head coach Bill Brock said. "We've been in a lot of close games. We execute well when the game's tied at the end and I'm proud of that."
Miannah Little and Bineta Diatta had 13 points apiece for the Highlassies (28-4), who advance to face No. 6 seed Trinity Valley Community College at 5 p.m. on Friday. They, along with No. 5 seed Blinn College, are the Texas schools left in the field.
Mattie Busby had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Murray State (26-7). Jade Millan added 10 points.
Gulf Coast State 71
Three Rivers 47
Imani Smith scored 20 points and No. 11 seed Gulf Coast State (25-4) used a 14-0 run over the first and second quarters to put away No. 22 seed Three Rivers in the last game of the first round.
Gulf Coast State faces No. 6 seed Jones College in the round of 16 at 7 p.m. Friday.
It is the first victory at the national tournament for the Commodores since 2019, when they won the national title for the third time in four years. The 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID outbreak and Gulf Coast didn't qualify for the tournament in 2022, with a first-round loss in 2021 sandwiched around those years.
South Georgia Tech 54
Moberly Area 49
Alexia Dizeko scored 19 points, including two free throws with 10.7 seconds remaining to ice the game, and No. 1 seed South Georgia Technical College turned back No. 17 seed Moberly Area in the round of 16.
Fanta Gassama added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Lady Jets (33-1), who trailed by as much seven early in the second half. That came after Moberly (29-4) made an 11-0 run that began on a last-second shot by Keiori Lee to end the first half.
Lee led Moberly with 15 points. The Lady Greyhounds, coming off a first-round win on Wednesday, came out the aggressor early against South Georgia Tech, which had a first-round bye.
NW Florida State 59
Shelton State 51
Sakima Walker made 7 of 9 field goals in a 16-point performance, and Destiny McPhaul and Zayla Tinner were close behind with 15 and 14 points, leading No. 8 seed Northwest Florida State over No. 9 seed Shelton State in the round of 16.
The Raiders face No. 1 seed South Georgia Tech (33-1) in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Nya Valentine tried to keep Shelton State in the game with her 22 points and four 3-point goals, but Maya Cunningham with 10 points was the only other double-digit scorer for the Lady Bucs (31-4).
Eastern Florida State 73
Walters State 45
Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu scored 16 points, L'or Eyeba Mputu and Elli Garnet backed her with 14 and 13, respectively, and Eastern Florida State lived up to its No. 2 seed by beating No. 18 seed Walters State by the most lopsided margin in the tournament's first dozen games.
Eastern Florida hit 7 of 16 from 3-point range, led by two from Leilani Guion, who finished with nine points.
Maiya Reed and Kailyn Farrell scored 11 points apiece for Walters State (26-5), an east Tennessee school that was coming off a 76-67 first-round victory over Casper College.
Wabash Valley 60, Cochise 57
Wabash Valley, averaging more than 103 points per game, found a way to pull out a 60-57 victory over No. 23 seed Cochise in easily its lowest-scoring output of the season.
Shaulana Wagner hit a putback off a Brooklyn Gray miss with 25 seconds to play, then converted two free throws following a steal with 10.1 left to ice the game for Wabash Valley, an Illinois school. The Lady Warriors (31-1) will take on Eastern Florida State in the quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Wagner was the catalyst for the Lady Warriors, scoring a game-high 21 points.
Wabash Valley had scored 100 or more points in 19 of 31 games going into its tournament opener and had scored fewer than 90 just three times.
Deyana Bogan led Cochise (28-6) with 14 points. Alayna Contreras added 13 points and Deja Jones 10
New Mexico JC 48, Dodge City 38
Danna Grenald scored all but two of her 14 points in the second half, including six points in a decisive 11-0 run late in the third quarter, and No. 20 seed New Mexico Junior College pulled away from No. 13 seed Dodge City Community College in a first-round game Wednesday night.
Sandra Magolico, who provided most of the offense for the Lady Thunderbirds (26-5) in the first half, added a game-high 18 points for NMJC, which advances to the second round on Friday to face No. 4 seed College of Southern Idaho at 1 p.m.
Leah Mufua led Dodge City (29-4) with 10 points before fouling out.
North Dakota SCS 72
Eastern Arizona 66
Arianna Berryhill had six points in a 9-0 run early in the fourth quarter, then iced the game with two free throws with 6.5 seconds left as No. 21 seed North Dakota State College of Science rallied past No. 12 seed Eastern Arizona in a first-round game Thursday night.
Berryhill finished with a game-high 24 points, leading a group of four players scoring in double figures. Charita Lewis added 14 points, Ivy Fox 12 — including a 3-point goal with 31 seconds left that put the game out of reach — and Quinn Neppl 11
The win, the first for NDSCS at the national tournament in program history, vaults the Lady Wildcats (30-4) into the second round where they will face No. 5 seed Blinn College at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Skye Miller led Eastern Arizona (29-2) with 12 points. Tiara Bolden added 11 and Shalance Montoya 10.
NJCAA TOURNAMENT
at Rip Griffin Center
(Seedings, records in parentheses)
First Round
Wednesday's Results
Moberly Area 64, Barton Community College 56 (2OT)
Shelton State 72, Monroe College 48
Walters State 76, Casper College 67
Cochise 63, Collin College 52
New Mexico Junior College 48, Dodge City Community College 38
North Dakota State College of Science 72, Eastern Arizona 66
Thursday's Results
McLennan Community College 50, Murray State, Okla. 47 (OT)
Gulf Coast State 71, Three Rivers 47
Round of 16
South Georgia Tech 54, Moberly Area 49
Northwest Florida State 59, Shelton State 51
Eastern Florida State 73, Walters State 45
Wabash Valley 60, Cochise 57
Friday's Games
Southern Idaho (4) (29-2) vs. New Mexico JC (20) (26-5), 1 p.m.
Blinn College (5) (30-3) vs. North Dakota State College of Science (21) (30-4), 3 p.m.
Trinity Valley Community College (3) (31-2) vs. McLennan (14) (28-4), 5 p.m.
Jones College (6) (25-3) vs. Gulf Coast State (11) (25-4), 7 p.m.
Saturday's Games
Quarterfinals
South Georgia Tech (1) (33-1) vs. Northwest Florida State (8) (26-4), 1 p.m.
Eastern Florida State (2) (32-1) vs. Wabash Valley (7) (31-1), 3 p.m.
Southern Idaho-New Mexico JC winner vs. Blinn-North Dakota State College of Science winner, 5 p.m.
Trinity Valley-McLennan winner vs. Jones-Gulf Coast State winner, 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: NJCAA Tournament roundup: McLennan outlasts Murray State in overtime
