WARREN, Mich. – Following a 2-0 weekend at the Skippers New Year's Classic, Macomb Women's Basketball finished non-conference play with an 11-4 record and entered the national conversation in the receiving votes category of the Week Seven NJCAA Basketball DII Women's Rankings. The receiving votes nod marked the first time the Monarchs appeared in the poll since the beginning stages of the 2021-22 season.
With non-conference action in the rearview mirror, the Monarchs now prepare for MCCAA Eastern Conference play and face a tough test right out of the gate as they travel to No. 6 Schoolcraft College on Saturday (Jan. 10) for a 1 p.m. tip-off.
A LOOK AT THE OCELOTS: Schoolcraft enters this weekend sporting an unblemished 14-0 record—the only team in the MCCAA to go unbeaten in non-conference play. The Ocelots most recently earned a 64-59 victory over NJCAA DI foe Vincennes University on Dec. 30.
Schoolcraft is led by freshman Briana Young, who paces the team in scoring with 15.6 points per game. Young also records a team-high 8.0 rebounds per contest.
A deep and talented team, the Ocelot attack also features the scoring output of Riley Abney (13.9 PPG) and Siena McNitt (13.0 PPG). McNitt earned Second Team All-Eastern Conference, Eastern Conference All-Freshman Team and Eastern Conference All-Defensive honors last season.
Shay Lewis is in year seven as the head coach at Schoolcraft. Lewis led the Ocelots to a Great Lakes District B Championship and NJCAA Division II National Tournament appearance in 2024-25.
A LOOK AT THE MONARCHS: The Monarchs capped off non-conference play with a quality 80-69 win over Bay College on Jan. 3. Bay entered the contest receiving votes nationally and were previously ranked inside the NJCAA DII Top 25. The victory over Bay followed a 48-41 win over Grand Rapids Community College less than 24 hours earlier.
In the win over Grand Rapids,
Asiyah Jihad hauled in a career-high 22 rebounds while
A'Liyah Forris was the lone Monarch to reach double figures in scoring with 11 points. Jihad,
Vanessa Galovich and
Janiya McWilliams chipped
in seven points each.
Four Monarchs reached double figures in the Bay win, led by Jihad's 22-point, 13-rebound double-double. Forris registered 17 points, six rebounds and four assists, while
MyKenzi Harris added 16 points and three assists and McWilliams recorded a balanced effort with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Jihad continues to lead the Monarchs with a double-double average of 15.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Forris is averaging 12.7 points per night while Harris has posted 12.0 points per contest.
LAST SEASON: Schoolcraft swept the season series in 2024-25, earning a 68-40 victory in Warren before winning 63-48 in Livonia. The Ocelots have won nine-straight meetings over the Monarchs, with Macomb's last win—a 74-38 victory—coming in March 2021.
LIVE COVERAGE: Schoolcraft will provide live stats and live video coverage of Saturday's game. Both live coverage links are available on the women's basketball schedule page of MacombMonarchs.com.
UP NEXT: Following Saturday's contest, Macomb will continue conference play on the road at Henry Ford College on Wednesday (Jan. 14) at 5:30 p.m. The Monarchs will host Mott Community College on Saturday (Jan. 17) at 1 p.m. from the Matthaei Center on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit.
