Lady T-Birds in plus column for holidays
Allison Cripe
Mesa Legend
December was a positive month for the T-Birds with 5 wins and 3 losses. The losses were against rivals Pima, Scottsdale, and Legion Region. Phoenix was the first victory of December taking place on the second of the month.The T-Birds were slow in the first quarter but Taylor Reed fixed that with a six point score followed by three pointers from Janessa Aukward and Briana Clah.Mesa continued to make points during the second quarter and by the third was unbeatable in their game.
There was an 11-3 run within the first six minutes.
Coming into halftime, Mesa was at a 20 point advantage thanks to the help of players Natalie Stilwell and Sham Troupe. With Pima, Briana Clah was able to secure 24 points but it was combated by Aztec players Smith and Stallworth. Pima continued to score and Mesa tried but was unable to catch up resulting in a 76-69 loss. Though Mesa was relentless against Central Arizona during the game on Jan. 6, ultimately they fell and victory went to the opposition.
Janessa Aukward helped with a contributing 15 points and 4 rebounds. Brianna Clah, with 23 points and 7 rebounds. It was a great effort all and all on the girls’ part, unrelenting. Similar to the men’s basketball game against Central, the Women’s were able to get the lead in the second quarter. However, Central ended that with a 9-4 run and taking the lead at 35-31. Jan. 9, MCC played against Chandler Gilbert in a game ending at 67-50. This time, the T-birds taking the lead. Briana Clah once again scored major points for MCC, aiding in the win. She scored 26 points in total making five three pointers as well as two rebounds and three assists.
Destinee Wright on rebound also contributed with an impressive 11 points. Ashle Burns, with five. The whole team was dedicated to a win, maintaining a ten point advantage throughout all four quarters. Next game was against Eastern on Jan. 13. With a promising start at 20-19 in the first quarter the game looked like another possible win for MCC women. However, Eastern picked up their game and never let down until scoring their final win at 63-49. After the third quarter, Mea seemed tired though with more impressive score points from Briana Clah and Janessa Aukward.
Mesa was close in third quarter, only two points behind at 3:08 until the opposition’s Christina Ellis dunked a couple of free throws that threw that off balance. However, it was not enough to bring back up the spirits of the team who ended up shooting only 1-13 in the final period. Jan. 16 MCC will be playing against Tohono O’odham Community College at 2 p.m. at Theo Heap gym.
