Morton, Rock Valley battle to 5th place bracket at NJCAA Div. II Championships
JOPLIN, MO - Morton College and Rock Valley College represented Region 4 at the NJCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championships from March 18-23 at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. Both teams won their opening game in the second round before falling in the quarterfinals to dop into fifth place bracket, which the Panthers eventually won.
Seventh-seeded Morton College began play with an 87-72 victory over #10-seed Harcum College, with Nariah Clay and Alex Stewart each scoring 18 points. The Golden Eagles, playing as the #3 seed in the tournament, remained undefeated with a 78-54 pounding of #14-seed Mid Michigan College. Maya Mitchell registered 20 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
Both teams saw their national championship hopes come to an end with a ten-point loss in the national quarterfinals. Rock Valley College suffered an 80-70 setback against #6-seed Mesa Community College for its first loss of the season. Mitchell and Jasmyn Hale led RVC with 13 points each. The Panthers were upended by the eventual national champions as #2-seeded Kirkwood Community College won by an 88-78 margin. Clay again led the way with 21 points as she knocked down six 3-pointers.
In the fifth place bracket semifinals, the Golden Eagles season ended with a narrow 66-63 defeat against #5-seed Iowa Western Community College. Mitchell scored 23 points as RVC ended their 2023-24 campaign with a 34-2 record. Morton College, meanwhile, used 22 points from Stewart and 17 by Clay to take down #9-seed Lincoln Land Community College and advanced to the 5th Place Game. The Panthers squared off with Iowa Western and held off the Reivers down the stretch to earn a 75-67 win. Clay finished with 18 points, and Shanihya Brown added a dozen off the bench. Morton College finished 33-4 on the year.
Clay, a freshman guard, was named to the 2024 NJCAA Division II Women's Basketball All-Tournament Team.
��Looks like 5th place!
— NJCAA Basketball (@NJCAABasketball) March 23, 2024
Morton takes the win against Iowa Western for 5th place in the 2024 #NJCAABasketball DII Women's Championship.https://t.co/vHQARxxKYq pic.twitter.com/79PpopZU9T