Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Friday night the Raiders played one of their best defensive games of the seasons and upset the 14th ranked Jayhawks of Muskegon, 51-47. The win not only snapped a 10 game win streak for Muskegon (18-3 overall, 10-2 conference), but it also kept the Raiders (13-8, 4-6) in contention of a District Tournament berth. A Raider loss would have put them in seventh place, but now they sit all alone in fifth place. The Jayhawks are now in a tie for first place with Lake Michigan College.
The Raider D held the Jayhawks to 24% (16 of 65) from the field which was the third lowest of the year. For the season, the Raiders rank near the top of the conference with opponents shooting just 30% overall from the field. They also out rebounded the Jayhawks making it the 16th time in 21 games they have out rebounded their opponents.
The Jayhawks opened up the game on a 10-0 run before the Raiders
Aaliyah Sargent (Cedar Springs, MI) finally scored the first Raider bucket with 3:27 left in the first quarter. The Jayhawks led wire to wire in the first half, taking a 25-15 lead going into the locker room.
The Raider offense came out the second half and played one of it's best quarters of the year.
Rayven Mondy (Kentwood, MI) hit back to back three's to open up the third and
Emily Pendred's (East Lansing, MI) jumper with 7:08 on the clock capped a 12-0 run and gave the Raiders their first lead of the ball game, 27-25. MCC's Gracie Reinhold jumper gave her team the lead back at 32-21, but then it was
Carlee Odom's (Centreville, MI) turn to make back to back three's and she put the Raiders back up by seven (41-34) with 1:34 left. By the end of the quarter, the Raiders would out score the Jayhawks 26-11 and take a 41-36 lead going in the final ten minutes.
The fourth quarter was all defensive for the first four minutes before GR's
Mya Jordan (Kentwood, MI) knocked in the first basket of the quarter with 6:47 left making it 43-36. The lead would extend to 10 points after
Hallee Breimayer (Belding, MI) made it a 46-36 ball game with 4:38 remaining, but then came the Jayhawks. Down seven, Yasmine Colon's three made it 48-44 with 52 seconds and Elysia Mattos (team high 12 points) free throw with 13 seconds left made it just a one possession game.
The Jayhawks had to foul on the next inbounds three times in a row in order to get the Raiders to the free throw line. Jordan would be the first clutch shooter as she made both throws with 8 seconds left making it 50-45. After a time out, Mattos threw a perfect pass just under the rim and her teammate Delaney Bolles (4 points-9 rebounds) would lay it up making it a three point game again. After another foul, Breimayer would go to the line to try and seal the victory with 5 seconds left. She missed the first free throw, but connected on the second to secure the victory for the Raiders.
Jordan finished with her sixth double double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. One of conference's best shot blockers added 6 blocks, making it her fifth time with five or more blocks. Mondy finished with 10 points and Pendred 8 points and 6 rebounds. Besides the good D, head coach David Glazier (who earned his first career victory over Muskegon) had to be pleased with the team's ball control. The Raiders totaled just 13 turnovers on the night, their second lowest of the year.
The Raiders will try to stay in the 5th spot in the conference standings as they travel to Kalamazoo Valley Monday night to take on the Cougars. KVCC is just a half game back of the Raiders in the standings with a 10-10 overall record and 4-7 in the conference. Tip is at 5:30 pm and you can catch all the updates on GRCC Athletic's Twitter site.
