BACK-TO-BACK: Women's Basketball Repeats as Region IV Champions
#2 Rock Valley College Women's Basketball claimed the 2018 Region IV Tournament Championship with a 73-55 win over Joliet Junior College. With the win, RVC Women's Basketball moves to 19-12 and extends their winning streak to 11 games. The Golden Eagles will host Columbus State Community College on Saturday, March 3rd at 1 PM for the District 2 Championship. The winner will advance to the NJCAA DIII National Championship.
In the semifinal round, the Golden Eagles raced past Elgin Community College 85-57. RVC wasted no time and took a 20-point halftime advantage and never looked back. The Golden Eagle defense held the Spartans to 33.3% shooting from the field for the game. In contrast, RVC connected on 32-68 (47.1%) shots for the game. The Golden Eagles also held a 47-35 rebounding advantage in the game.
Madison Vicencio (19),
Emily Cox (15), and
Paige Wogen (12) led the scoring attack to advance to the championship game.
In a fast-paced championship game, the Golden Eagles held just a 32-25 advantage into halftime. It was not until the decisive 4th quarter where RVC Women's Basketball owned the moment and put the Wolves down for good. In that quarter, the Golden Eagles outscored Joliet 24-11. Despite chilly shooting performances from both teams, the Golden Eagles managed to connect on 23 of 28 free throws for the game. RVC also out-rebounded the Wolves 43-28 overall.
Hayley Sorenson (14),
Madi Hecox (14), and
Jessie Schiro (13) led the scoring attack for the Golden Eagles. Sorenson was named to the Region IV All-Tournament Team, while Schiro was named the tournament's most valuable player.
"This is a special group of young ladies," 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 proud of them. This team bought into our vision. The early part of our season was not pretty, but we continued to preach how we needed to keep developing as a unit for tournament time. 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."
