Lady Cardinals roughed up by Jeffco
HILLSBORO — The Mineral Area Lady Cardinals were involved in a very physical contest with the Jefferson College Lady Vikings on Tuesday. Receiving the impact of several called and non-called fouls, the Lady Cardinals took more of a beating than just the 87-73 final score.
Angie Randall came off the bench to score two driving lay-ups and tie the score at 55-55 with 15 minutes left in the second half, but from there, the Lady Vikings press forced several turnovers by the Lady Cardinals which they converted into quick baskets to pull away for good.
Taylor Ignoto was on target from downtown with four threes in the first half to give her 18 points before the break. Jeffco’s defense held Ignoto to only three free throws in the second half as defenders concentrated on denying her from getting open to receive a pass or get off a shot.
For the most part, the game had more of a look of a sprinting contest as both teams raced the floor to try to score the quick bucket.
Gaining the early lead, Jeffco was unable to increase their lead to more then five to six points as the Lady Cardinals answered nearly every basket with one of their own.
The Lady Vikings racing-style offense and overly-aggressive defense had its consequences as they contracted seven fouls by the 10-minute mark with Mineral Area not having committed one foul. The Lady Cardinals were 9-11 in the first half from the charity stripe.
Down by nine late in the half, Mineral Area fought back to within four with the help of an offensive board by Courtney Knuckles on a missed three-point shot by Hana Haden. Delivering the ball back out to Haden, the sophomore guard did not miss on her second try.
Jeffco called time with 17 second left to set up a scoring play, but Brittany Lawson ruined the play by blocking the Lady Vikings shot, and Knuckles was fouled rebounding the ball to make it a double hurt by sinking both free throws.
Nicolle Thomas salvaged the finale for the Lady Vikings by hitting a 16-footer at the buzzer for a 46-42 half-time lead.
The Lady Vikings made the most of their height advantage as they pulled down 49 rebounds to MAC’s 32, with 16 coming on the offensive boards resulting in the Lady Vikings taking 14 more shot from the floor. Lawson led the Lady Cardinals with seven boards and Kate Alemann had six.
The Lady Cardinals (11-10) will play at home on Saturday in a doubleheader with the men against State Fair.
Mineral Area 42 31 – 73
Jefferson 46 41 – 87
SCORING:
MAC – Taylor Ignoto 21, Kate Alemann 13, Rita Banaszczak 8, Hana Haden 7, Nathalie Felipe 7, Courtney Knuckles 7, Angie Randall 6, Brittany Lawson 4. 3-pt FG – Ignoto 4, Haden 2, Banaszczak 2, Knuckles. FT – 24-32.
Jeffco – Nicolle Thomas 22, LaQuinta Jefferson 17, Lashonda Littleton 12, Mar’Lisa Braxton 9, Simone Johnson 8, Marikate Gardler 7, Brittany Leonard 4, Rayven Brooks 3, Mykeah Baez 3 Genise Presley 2. 3-pt. FG – Thomas 5, Jefferson, Brooks. FT – 16-20.
