BACK ON TOP: #1 Golden Eagles Defend Their Home Court, Win 2017 Region IV Title
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Box Score 2 #1 Rock Valley College Women's Basketball set out the 2016-17 season on a mission to win a Region IV Championship, win a District 2 Championship, and win a NJCAA DIII National Championship. Goal one of three was accomplished over the weekend as the Golden Eagles knocked off the Joliet Junior College Wolves 65-61 in the Physical Education Center to earn the Region IV crown. With the win, RVC Women's Basketball moves to 29-2 and extends their winning streak to 18 games.
In Saturday afternoon's semifinal, the Golden Eagles found themselves in a tight battle with Milwaukee Area Technical College, the #5 seed in the Region IV Tournament. Despite it being a one possession game to begin the fourth quarter, RVC managed to find defensive stops and hit timely baskets when it mattered the most. The Golden Eagle attack was fueled by a complete floor game from
Jaycee Cleaver (23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals), a double-double from
Tierra McGowan (16 points, 13 rebounds), and 11 points from
Anastasia Karaivanova. The Golden Eagle defense was stingy once again, holding the Stormers to 21-57 (36.8%) shooting from the field and 2-8 (25%) shooting from behind the three-point arc.
In Sunday afternoon's championship game against Joliet, RVC was able to over come a 7-point first half deficit to earn 29-28 advantage to head into the break. After a dominating third quarter performance, the Golden Eagles were able to hold an 11-point advantage to head into the fourth quarter. RVC never trailed the rest of the game. Behind the clutch free throw shooting of Cleaver (6-6 for the game), the Golden Eagles were able to finish the game off. Cleaver, who earned Region IV Tournament MVP Honors, finished the championship game with 25 points. McGowan, who was selected to the Region IV All-Tournament Team, flirted with a triple-double recording 18 points, 21 rebounds, and 7 blocked shots.
Chrisseesha Clark also earned Region IV All-Tournament Team honors. She contributed 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in the winning effort.
"This team is a group of fighters," said Head Women's Basketball Coach
Misty Opat. "They never give up, they never back down, and they truly love playing the game with one another. I am very, very proud of them. In coming up short last year, our staff knew exactly how hard we needed to work in order to get back to this point. This team bought into our vision. We are thrilled to be able to practice for another week to hopefully win a District 2 Championship, and get back to the NJCAA DIII National Tournament."
UP NEXT
#1 RVC travels to Ohio Christian University in Circleville, OH to take on Columbus State Community College (OH) on Saturday, March 4th. Tip off is set for 8 PM EST.
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