Grand Rapids, Mich. --  For the second straight season, the Raiders went on the road and upset their opponent in the first round of the NJCAA District G Tournament, and for the second straight time they would fall to the eventual District Champions in the Semi-Finals.  After a game winning three by Sophomore Hallee Breimayer to defeat Jackson on Tuesday, the Raiders went up against the Lake Michigan Red Hawks Thursday, only to fall 47-31 on their home floor.  The loss ends a great season for the Raiders who finished with a 19-12 overall season including going .500 in conference play.  The 20th ranked Red Hawks (who won the MCCAA title a week ago) went on to defeat Mid-Michigan in the Championship game and will head to Nationals in Arkansas with a 27-5 overall record.

The Raiders didn't allow a point until early in the second quarter against LMC. In the opening quarter the Red Hawks were 0 of 16 from the field and 0 of 6 from behind the arc and the Raiders led 14 to 0.  GRCC out played the visitors in every phase of the game in that quarter, including more rebounds and less turnovers. 

The tables turned quickly in the second quarter as the Red Hawks scored the first 14 points and tied it up with 5:30 left in the half.  A layup by Emily Pendred (East Lansing, MI) on a great assist from Hallee Breimayer (Belding, MI) gave the Raiders the lead back a minute later, but unfortunately it would be their final lead of the game.

 A 17-0 run by the Red Hawks that carried over from the second quarter finally ended after a Breimayer free throw with 1:56 to go in the third, making it 31-17.  The Raiders outscored LMC in the fourth, but it wasn't enough to overcome the big deficit. 

All-Tournament Team player, Mya Jordan (Kentwood, MI), finished her career at GRCC with nearly a triple double.  She totaled 9 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, blocked 7 shots, had 3 steals and didn't turn the ball over once.  Pendred and Aaliyah Sargent (Cedar Springs, MI) each had 9 rebounds and Breimayer finished with 7 points and a game high 4 assists.

The Raiders finished the season as one of the best defensive teams in the MCCAA, holding their opponents to just 30% from the field, 25% from three point range and 63% from the charity stripe.  They lead the conference in blocked shots with 243 and held their opponents to under 50 points an impressive 11 times.

The 19 overall wins for the Raiders this season is the most since the 2009-2010 season when they went 22-4 and won the conference with a 15-1 record.

The 2018-19 MCCAA Post Season Awards were also announced on Monday and three Raider sophomores were honored with the following:

Mya Jordan - All-Conference Second Team (8th in voting) and All-Defensive Team (3rd in voting-just five players on team).  Jordan ranked first in the MCCAA in blocked shots (101), seventh with 264 rebounds (8.5/game), and 14th with 59 steals.  She also was first on the team shooting 40.5% from the floor, second in scoring (12.4/game) and fourth in free throw shooting (65.5%).

Hallee Breimayer - All-Conference Third Team.  The starting point guard, who played and started all 31 games, lead the team in scoring (13.5/game), three pointers made (63), assists (149) and steals (69).  The 149 assists ranked her third in the MCCAA after All-Region players Rascoe and Mattos.

Emily Pendred - All-Conference Honorable Mention.  Pendred also played and started in all 31 games this year.  She finished with the fourth most rebounds in the MCCAA and was second best in the conference with 360.  She was also third in the MCCAA with 164 offensive rebounds. Emily was fourth on the team in blocked shots (21) and steals (36) while averaging 6.6 points/game.

For a complete list of all the MCCAA Post Season awards click here.
For a final composite of this season's statistics click here.
For a look at all of this years photos visit our Flickr site here.