No. 9 Women's Basketball advances to Quarterfinals after win against No. 8 Highland on Tuesday
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mesa Community College (24-8) | 15 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 61 |
|
Highland Community College - Kansas (27-4) | 13 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 51 |
Highland Community College - Kansas
| Game Statistics | Mesa Community College | Highland Community College - Kansas |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (25-53) | (17-45) |
| Field Goal % | 47.2% | 37.8% |
| Rebounds | 41 | 20 |
| Assists | 15 | 3 |
| Turnovers | 19 | 15 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 9 | 17 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 9 | 2 |
| Pts in the Paint | 20 | 16 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 7 | 4 |
| Bench Pts | 8 | 5 |
Tuesday, March 18, 2025 - 4:00 p.m. | Dylan DeVlieger
No. 9 Mesa Women's Basketball came out on top against No. 8 Highland in the Second Round of the 2025 NJCAA DII Women's Basketball Championship, 61-51 on Tuesday.
The T-Birds came out hot as they started the game on a 7-0 run and were also able to hold Highland scoreless in their first three possessions. Mesa went to their leading scorer Britany Kogbara early and often in the first quarter as Kogbara scored six of the first 13 points for MCC.
Mesa did a good job defensively against Highland's top scorer, Cameron McNamara holding her to just one shot attempt in the first quarter. At the end of the quarter Mesa led 15-13.
In the second quarter Highland was able to regain the lead with just over four minutes left as McNamara hit two free throws to regain the advantage.
Mesa's Bella Barrett hit her third straight shot of the game as she brought Mesa to within a point (23-24). Ashiian Hunter who started the game 1-4 was able to hit a three-pointer and a floater consecutive possessions to put Mesa back in front (26-24).
Both teams would go back and forth the rest of the period which when finished found Mesa in front, 31-28.
In the third quarter Mesa would work their lead to as much as eight before Kogbara would commit her fourth foul and be sent to the bench. With Kogbara out the Scotties would go on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to two (43-42). Barrett would hit a layup with less than 30 seconds left to put Mesa back up by three (45-42).
Barrett was a big part of Mesa's ability to hold off the Scotties push in the third according to Stepehenson who praised Barrett's ability to help keep everyone composed in the moment.
In the fourth quarter Hunter hit a three-pointer to start the period which provided a big lift for Mesa. The Scotties would not go away though as McNamara scored Highland's first seven points of the quarter.
Mesa would begin to pull away with about 5:30 left in the game when Kamiyah Hurd came away with a steal on one end and an offensive rebound on the other which set up Aaliyah Garcia for a three-pointer to give Mesa a five point lead (52-47).
Hurd would then hit a jumper while being fouled as she came away with a three-point play to put Mesa up by six (55-49) with just under five minutes to go.
Kogbara would check back into the ballgame after checking out of the game late in the third quarter. Mesa would remain in control the rest of the game outsourcing Highland, 6-2 in the final few minutes to secure the 61-51 victory.
Mesa went almost 10 minutes of game time without Kogbara who is a critical part of the T-Birds offense and their best rebounder. In that time though Highland was able to string together runs, the T-Birds remained composed and slowed down McNamara, the Scotties star. Stephenson credits Mesa's prep work for their ability to close the game without Kogbara.
"Our preparation, we had different matchups that could go against their best player so preparing that way when we got put in that moment without Britany we were already prepared to guard McNamara and we practiced that," said Stephenson.
With the win MCC advances to the Quarterfinal and will now take on the No. 1 seed Kirkwood on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. MST / 3:30 p.m. MST.
PC: NJCAA
