Golden Eagles soar again, earn Region IV DIII three-peat
PALATINE, ILL. - The Rock Valley College dynasty machine continued after capturing their third consecutive championship at the 2019 Region IV Division III Women's Basketball Tournament with a narrow 68-63 victory over Elgin Community College on Monday. The top-seeded Golden Eagles held off a second half rally from the third-seeded Spartans to earn their first title under first year coach Taylor Ignoto. The Rockford-based program has won seven of the last eight Region IV crowns, reaching the national championship game in each of the same seven seasons.
Rock Valley College, which began the tournament with 77-69 defeat of fourth-seeded Joliet Junior College (19-11), raced out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, and led 25-13 after ten minutes. By halftime the lead had narrowed by a point to 37-26. Elgin outscored RVC 18-11 in the third quarter and used an 11-3 run to close the gap to 48-44 heading to the fourth. In the final ten minutes, the Spartans drew as close 48-47 with just over eight minutes to play before the Golden Eagles pulled away for good.
Sophomore Madi Hecox scored 21 points with three 3-pointers, while also accumulating six steals, four rebounds, four assists, and one block en route to being named Region IV Tournament Most Valuable Player. Kalea Kruser, Carson Nitz, and Sydney Miller also scored ten or more points, with Miller posted a double-double of ten points and 13 rebounds. Elgin Community College, which defeated second-seeded Madison College (19-8) 67-54 to advance past the semifinals, was paced by Rachel Dumoulin's 22 points and finished the year 23-9.
Rock Valley College (25-5) will travel to Perrysburg, Ohio to play Region XII winner Owens Community College (22-8) in the NJCAA Division III District B Championship on Saturday, March 2 at 1:00 p.m. (Live Stats) The winner will advance to the NJCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championships in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania from March 14-16.
All-Tournament Team
Emily Atsinger - Joliet Junior College
Shaquita Lee - Madison College
Rachel Dumoulin - Elgin Community College
Mariel Franco - Elgin Community College
Carson Nitz - Rock Valley College
Region IV Tournament MVP
Madi Hecox - Rock Valley College
Coach of the Year
Taylor Ignoto - Rock Valley College