The Three Rivers College women's basketball team hit one of its lowest points of the season in late January after back-to-back Region 16 road losses at State Fair and at Mineral Area College, dropping the Lady Raiders to .500 in the region standings.
However, that loss might end up going down as a turning point for Three Rivers, who have since won 10 games in a row, including a 68-61 win over the Lady Cardinals Saturday at the Libla Family Sports Complex.
With the win, the Lady Raiders (25-4, 10-2 Region 16) clinch the regular-season region title and also secure the top seed in the Region 16 tournament, which also gives TRC homecourt advantage for the tournament.
"I thought our girls did a great job of continuing to battle," Three Rivers coach Alex Wiggs said after the game. "It was a game of runs against a very good team and a very well-coached team. I thought that we did a good job of limiting their runs throughout the game, and so I'm really proud of our defensive effort. … I thought that we were locked in for a majority of the game defensively."
MAC led 12-10 after Sydney Lewis's layup with 3:54 left in the first period, but Jasmine Davis and the Lady Raiders answered right back with a basket 10 seconds later to tie the score at 12. That basket sparked a 12-5 run to close the period and give the Lady Raiders a 22-17 lead.
The Lady Cardinals did not go away, cutting the TRC lead to 25-23 on Katelyn Chomko's basket with 5:47 left in the half and cutting it to 32-28 at halftime after Maddie Ayers drained a 3-pointer with six seconds to go before the break.
Da'Kariya Jackson's floater with 6:47 left in the third quarter staked the Lady Raiders to a 40-31 lead, but Chomko drained a 3-pointer with 3:41 left in the period to again make it a two-point game (43-41).
After taking a 51-47 lead to the fourth quarter, Three Rivers opened the final period on a 9-2 run, capped by a Kaleigh Thompson layup with six minutes to go for a 60-49 lead. The Lady Cardinals came no closer than five points the rest of the night.
Jackson led the Lady Raiders with 17 points, while Thompson added 15 and Bramyia Johnson had eight off the bench. Jackson also added five assists while committing just two turnovers.
"Da'Kariya Jackson played like a sophomore tonight, like she should," Wiggs said. "I thought she made big plays down the stretch there, getting to the rim, getting to the free-throw line and doing those things for us, as well as Kaleigh Thompson. I thought she was big for us down the stretch
Samari Taylor also added 10 rebounds and two blocked shots Saturday to go with six points.
"We had a injury with one of our other (centers) from the State Fair game and I thought Samari did a great job of stepping up and getting those rebounds," Wiggs said
Chomko paced MAC with 15 points, while Remi Langmaid added 12 and Lewis had 10, plus 13 rebounds for a double-double.
Three Rivers is off until a week from Tuesday when it hosts the winner of Thursday's Region 16 tournament first-round game between Crowder and Moberly. If the Lady Raiders win, they will host either State Fair or MAC for the region tournament title and an automatic bid to the national tournament.
"That one seed means everything," Wiggs said, "especially since now that the region (tournament) is at the highest seed. We've got to take care of business Tuesday the 12th, but it gives us that opportunity (if) we take care of business (next) Tuesday, then we get to host the region championship.
"We can't overlook (next) Tuesday night, but it allows that game to be here where, like I told the girls, we don't have to travel, where we don't have stay in hotels, where we get sleep in our own beds and stick to our routine."
Mike Buhler - Daily American Republic