WARREN, Mich. – Sophomore Day success! Macomb Women's Basketball picked up its fifth win in a row on Saturday (Feb. 24), defeating Wayne County, 81-78, in front a packed Sophomore Day crowd at the Sports & Expo Center. The win lifted the Monarchs to 17-8 overall and more importantly into a third place tie with Schoolcraft in the MCCAA East at 7-4.

With one game remaining on the regular season slate, the Monarchs will either finish in third or fourth place in the conference. A win and Schoolcraft loss results in the East No. 3 seed, while any combination of a Macomb loss or Schoolcraft win places the Monarchs in the East No. 4 slot. The No. 3 seed hosts No. 4 on March 5 in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes District A Tournament. The winner of that game moves on to Mott Community College on March 7 to take on the North No. 1 seed in the semifinals of the District A bracket.

On Saturday, the Monarchs created some distance between them and the visiting Wildcats thanks to a 23-11 second quarter advantage that led to a 43-30 halftime lead. The Wildcats fought all the way back and forced a back-and-forth battle between the teams over the final 15 minutes of action.

The Monarchs were able to make big plays down the stretch to hold off the upset-minded Wildcats and earn the three-point win.

Tamia Tounsel (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) led the Monarchs with 22 points and 11 rebounds to record her 16^th double-double of the campaign. Tounsel added three assists and three steals to her latest double-double stat line as the sophomore continued to put up huge numbers against conference competition. Marissa Thomas (Toledo, Ohio/Perrysburg) followed with 17 points, five rebounds and two assists, while Sydney Garon (Shelby Twp., Mich./Henry Ford II) connected on four 3-pointers on her way to a 14-point afternoon. Garon added five rebounds and a pair of assists in the winning effort.

MaKayla Downs (Chesterfield, Mich./L'Anse Creuse North) hit double figures again, this time netting 11 points on a pair of triples, while Kamryn Richards (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Grosse Pointe South) rounded out five in double figures with a balanced stat line of 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

The Monarchs visit Jackson College on Tuesday (Feb. 27) to conclude regular season action. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m. on Jackson's campus.