JCCC finishes fifth at NJCAA D-II Championship
Johnson County Community College |
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The Lady Cavaliers opened tournament play as the No. 3 seed and received a bye in the first round, however, JCCC fell to an unseeded Mott Community College squad, 81-75 in its first action of the tournament.
The Lady Cavaliers trailed by nine points at halftime, and by as many as 17 points early in the second half. JCCC did fight back, but there was not enough time for the Lady Cavaliers to complete their comeback bid.
Waggoner led all scorers with a career-high 29 points. The sophomore from Carthage, Mo., hit 10-of-19 shots, including 3-of-9 from 3-point range, and was 6-of-10 at the line. Also in double figures were sophomore Heather Rourk with 13 points and freshman Katie Buenger with 10. Each pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.
After that disappointment and the realization that a title chance was gone, it would have been easy for JCCC to pack it in. After the first half in their next game against Genesee Community College, it appeared that might be the case, as JCCC trailed 39-33 at the break. However, the Lady Cavaliers came back the second half and eliminated Genesee from tournament play with an 81-65 victory. The Lady Cavaliers outscored the Lady Cougars by 22 points, shooting 51 percent from the field, and 67 percent (7-of-11) from 3-point range. Genesee fell off from its 53 percent first half shooting to just 26 percent in the second half.
Waggoner again led all scorers while establishing a new career high with 31 points. She hit 11-of-17 shots, including 4-of-5 from 3- point range, and was 5of-6 at the line. She also had nine rebounds and four assists. Her 31-point effort also set a single-game record in championship play in team history.
Joining Waggoner in double figures were Rourk with 16, sophomore Bethany Schwab with 12 and freshman Danielle Shows with 10. Show also pulled down 18 rebounds in, a team record in national tournament play.
JCCC capped the tournament posting a 59-50 victory over Carl Sandburg College, securing a fifth-place finish in the tournament. Rourk was the team’s second leading scorer for the third time, finishing with 10 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots. Shows also finished with 10 points, and led the team with nine rebounds and four assists.
For the tournament, Waggoner scored 82 points and averaged 27.3 points per game, both new team records in tournament play. She also set records for field goals in a game (11 vs. Genesee) and field goals for a tournament (27).
Rourk shot 81 percent from the foul line in the tournament, hitting 13-of-16 free throws. Shows set team tournament records with 32 total rebounds and a rebound average of 10.7 per game.
