PORT HURON, Mich. – Playoff spot clinched! Macomb Women's Basketball secured their spot in one of the upcoming Great Lakes District Tournaments (A, B or C) with an impressive 62-58 upset win on the road over the 17
th ranked SC4 Skippers. The win elevated the Monarchs' overall record to 15-8 and pushed their MCCAA Eastern Conference record to 5-4.
Today's win ensures the Monarchs can fall no lower than the fifth spot in the MCCAA East – the final playoff spot allotted to the conference. With a strong finish to the regular season and little bit of help, the Monarchs could climb into a top-three spot and potentially host an opening round game.
How the District Tournaments Work
The top five teams from the MCCAA East qualify for postseason play with the No. 1 team receiving a bye and heading straight to Flint for the semifinal round of the tournament on March 7. On March 5, the No. 2 team in the conference will host the No. 5 team and No. 3 will host No. 4. The winner of the first round matchups move on to Mott Community College for the final site (semifinals/finals) of the tournament March 7-10.
The Monarchs are currently in the No. 4 spot in the MCCAA East.
Back to Saturday
As for Saturday's ranked win, the Monarchs played arguably their best third quarter of the season and outscored the Skippers 22-12 in the period to take a 51-47 lead into the final 10 minutes of play. Timely shots and key rebounds, including a massive offensive board by
Tamia Tounsel (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) with 30 seconds remaining, helped the Monarchs hold off the nation's 17
th ranked program.
Tounsel corralled a game-high 14 rebounds and tied
Marissa Thomas (Toledo, Ohio/Perrysburg) with a team-high 17 points to record double-double No. 14 on the season. Thomas added five assists and five rebounds to her 17-point afternoon, while
Sydney Garon (Shelby Twp., Mich./Henry Ford II) followed with 12 points (4 3PM) and six rebounds.
MaKayla Downs (Chesterfield, Mich./L'Anse Creuse North) drained three triples on her way to nine points and
Enddiea Reese (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) hauled in eight rebounds to go along with five points.
Up Next
The Monarchs will head to Auburn Hills on Wednesday (Feb. 21) to take on the Raiders of Oakland Community College at 5:30 p.m.