Mesa Community College women’s basketball team wins Region I, DII championship
The Mesa Community College women’s basketball defeated Scottsdale Community College 52-49 at home on Saturday in the regional finals of ACCAC playoffs, securing their bid to the national tournament from March 18-23.
The Thunderbirds started the game slow as SCC opened up a 9-3 lead in the first six minutes of the game.
The team would not take their first lead until a Miquedah Taliman three pointer almost two minutes into the second quarter to go up 17-16.
MCC would take a 25-23 lead into halftime.
Neither team would extend a lead beyond one possession until MCC opened up a 36-29 lead with just over three minutes to go in the third quarter. The quarter would end with MCC up 38-32.
SCC would take command to begin the fourth quarter, going on a 10-0 scoring run and taking a 42-38 lead until a Brooklyn Scurry two point shot would end the scoring drought.
MCC would take the lead again with a Jaida Brooks two pointer to go up 43-42 with about four minutes left in the game.
An SCC three pointer by Makeylei Snyder would give the team a 45-43 lead, however it would be the last lead of the game for the Artichokes.
Jaida Brooks would tie the game with two free throws and just over three minutes to go before scoring a layup on the next possession to give the Thunderbirds the lead.
Mackenzie Shivers would hit a three pointer before Brooks would hit two more free throws.
SCC kept things interesting after hitting a three with 11 seconds remaining to cut the lead to three.
SCC would quickly foul Brittany Kogbara, who missed both free throw attempts and gave the Artichokes a chance to tie the game on the final possession.
A buzzer beating three would fall short, securing the victory for the Thunderbirds.
Jaida Brooks led the team with 22 points, shooting 47% from the field and 40% from three.
Mackenzie Shivers led the team with six assists, as Kamiyah Hurd had a team high 11 rebounds and three steals.
The victory avenges last season’s loss to SCC in the first round of the playoffs, where SCC defeated the Thunderbirds 65-59.
The regional championship is the Thunderbirds’ fifth in the last ten years, securing the teams second national tournament bid in the last three years.
“I’ve never been able to say I’m a champion, so is awesome to be able to cut down a net with a team knowing we worked hard all season to get to this point and our job [is] not finished, but it’s just an awesome feeling,” said sophomore guard Mackenzie Shivers after the game.
Players credited head coach Kori Stephenson for their ability to reach their high level of play.
“Honestly, coach Kori prepared us for this whole thing,” said freshman guard Aaliyah Garcia.
“Coach Kori has instilled a lot of faith in us and coached us to be ready for this moment,” said freshman forward Ja’lyn White.
Kori Stephenson, the winningest coach in school history, has now led the Thunderbirds to eight total regional championships and looks to add another national championship to pair with the trophy from the 2013-2014 season.
“They all did [good] but like Jaida Brooks made big shots. McKenzie Shivers, her defense, and she made that big three. So those two just that leadership piece and then Brittany Kogbara and Brooklyn Scurry did phenomenal, they just did the best job individually they could do on Danay. Danay Williams is a very, very, very good player for Scottsdale and they worked their butts off for us and so defensively they did a fantastic job,” said Stephenson after the game.
Players also credit their summer workouts before the season began in giving them the team chemistry most advantages in these deep stages of the season.
“We’ve been really through it all together, ever since June 5th since we started workouts this summer, going through our track workouts, weight room workouts, conditioning and just being there for each other and knowing we have each other’s back. It’s really what’s got us through and what’s gonna keep pushing us into this National Tournament,” said Shiver
The home crowd for the one seeded Thunderbirds helped elevate the moment for the team, according to Stephenson.
“We’ve been in situations that we’ve never had and we’ve had home court advantage. The crowd was home court. But the amount of fans, my husband’s baseball team came out those guys came out so [it] really helped a lot with momentum,” said Stephenson.
The Thunderbirds now look ahead to the national tournament in Joplin, Missouri from March 18-23. The NJCAA DII selection show will be streamed live on Tuesday March 12 on the organizations website at 12 p.m.
The Mesa Legend’s Rey Covarrubias Jr. contributed to this article.
