SFCC Lady Roadrunners Defeat Shawnee, 101-31, in Home Opener

The Lady Roadrunners opened the season at home during the McDonald's Classic with a dominating performance, with SFCC defeating Shawnee Community College from Ullin, Illinois, 101-31.

Freshman guard Monique Esbrand made an early impression on fans scoring the first six points for the Lady Roadrunners.

"We found out that Monique was going to be able to play just before the game," said head coach Kevin Bucher. "It was a big impact for us because she is such a great kid and the girls were so happy for her."

SFCC led 55-17 at halftime and cruised to the victory. The Lady Roadrunners held Shawnee to less than 10 points in three of the four quarters.

Every Lady Roadrunner in uniform scored in the game. Sophomore guard Ren'Cia Rolling just missed a triple-double scoring 21 points, pulling down a team-high 14 rebounds and dishing out nine assists. Freshman forward/center Michaela Bethel (shown above) registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. She had the individual highlight of the game when she pulled down a rebound, dribbled the ball the length of the floor and converted a layup to bring the crowd to its feet.

Freshman guard Myka Mullin registered 17 points. She tied for the team lead in steals with fellow freshman guard Jazzmyn Elston with three. Elston also added 17 points. Freshman forward Brionna Hill pitched in 14 points. Esbrand put in 12 points. Sophomore center Grace Morrow led the team in blocked shots with eight, and Bethel registered four.

"Grace gave us the ability to extend our defense," said Bucher. "She worked hard over the summer to improve her game."

The Lady Roadrunners (1-1) ended the McDonald's Classic taking on the Kirkwood Community College Eagles from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and fell 76-46.

"This will be a great learning experience for down the road," said Bucher. "Our schedule is full of very good teams, so we're going to have to improve and improve quickly."

Kirkwood came into the matchup ranked number one in the NJCAA Division II women's basketball preseason rankings. The Eagles took command of the game in the second quarter outscoring the Lady Roadrunners 25-9.

Hill led the Lady Roadrunners in scoring with 16 points and pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds.

"Brionna played hard," said Bucher. "I was also pleased with the play of our post players. I thought they posted up hard. You play in games like this to make yourself better."

Rolling dished out a team-high six assists and led in steals with two. Morrow led the team in blocked shots with four.

SFCC played the Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley Lady Scouts Nov. 7 and won, 63-57. And after  playing in the Three Rivers Tournament this weekend, the Lady Roadrunners return home for the Stone Laser Imaging Classic on Friday, Nov. 17 to face the Missouri Valley JV at 5:30.

David Rohrbach, SFCC Athletics