LocalSportsJournal.com

The Muskegon Community College women’s basketball team is the 2018 Michigan Community College Athletic Association state champion.

The Jayhawks defeated Macomb Community College with a convincing 65-51 win on Saturday. The state title victory, which was the first for MCC since 1991, also brought MCC  the MCCAA conference championship.

“I am so incredibly proud of this team for battling back in the second half,” said MCC Coach Amanda Parker. “We faced some adversity in the first half, but they never gave up. We got back to Jayhawk basketball by defending and rebounding and it made a huge difference.”

MCC, now 22-6 on the season, captured the state title with a second half assault that reversed a 33-27 halftime deficit. The Jayhawks outscored Macomb 38-18 in the final 20 minutes.

Despite a 7-0 run to start the game and 11 first-quarter points from Iyana Brown, the Jayhawks had to overcome poor shooting in the second quarter, when they were 2-for-20 from the floor.

The Jayhawks, who battled with an eight-player roster all season, got a second-half lift from Tierra Williams and Elysia Mattos after Brown received her fourth foul with four minutes left in the third quarter.

Mattos finished with 19 points and seven assists while Williams had 11 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Brown tallied 15 points, seven rebounds, five steals and two blocks and Delaney Bolles had seven points and 17 rebounds.

The Jayhawks start their fight for a national championship on Friday in the Region XII semifinals hosted by St. Clair County Community College.