RRCC nearly pulls off come-from-behind upset with six players
Mesabi Range took advantage of a short-handed Rainy River Community College club Wednesday and won 66-61 at RRCC.
The Voyageurs dressed only six players — one for the first time this season — while Shawncinee Lay and Dashondra Brown missed the game for family reasons. Lay had a death in her family and Brown accompanied Lay on her trip home.
Jessica Montgomery led the Lady Norse (1-0, 4-7) with 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting, including 3 of 4 from long distance, while Megan Beard added 10 points and six rebounds. Lea’ola Fields, Jazmyne Woodson, Christina Mapson and Sarah Hamline all finished with eight points apiece.
“I feel we survived. They played well,” Lady Norse head coach Dan Zbosnik said.
Although fighting a monster disadvantage with only six players against Mesabi Range’s nine, RRCC scratched and clawed its way into the game.
Ashley Walker rarely missed, finishing with 21 points on 7 of 11 shooting. She made both her 3-pointers and went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. She also grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double.
“We did good,” Walker said. “I feel like we could’ve won, but with only six of us, we were tired. Everyone fought hard.”
Terry Young added 18 points and Asha Johnson had 15 points and seven rebounds. Danika Stelton, who reached the 1,000 point mark last season at Falls High School, played in her first game and had five points. Carley Lake grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
But it was visibly apparent the Voyageurs ran out of gas and missed Lay and Brown, who are averaging a combined 37.1 points this season. Brown leads the Northern Division in scoring (20.5) and rebounding (12.8) and sits second in steals (2.9). Lay is fifth in scoring (16.6) and third in assists (4.9).
“It’s extremely tough,” RRCC head coach Nate Berlin said. “I got three girls who need a rest and one on the bench. They all needed a break but had to suck it up.”
The Lady Norse led by as many as 13 in the second half following Hamline’s back-to-back breakaway layups, but the Voyageurs went on a 9-0 run, fueled by Johnson’s seven straight points, to cut a 56-43 deficit into a 56-52 deficit. Fields scored to end the run with just under six minutes to play, and the Lady Norse countered with an 8-2 run to go up 64-54. RRCC never got closer than five points.
“We made enough plays down the stretch. We made enough defensive stops down the stretch,” Zbosnik said.
Berlin expects Lay and Brown to return soon to give his team eight players, which worked well during the first half of the season. RRCC was one of only two schools (Itasca) to finish with an above .500 record in the Northern Division over the first half. Wednesday’s loss drops them to 0-1, 5-4.
“I feel like we can go all the way this year,” Walker said. “When they come back we’ll be a full team and we’ll play like a full team.”
RRCC returns to action Saturday at Northland in Thief River Falls.
Game notes
• Tim Myles, RRCC’s former football and women’s basketball coach, was in attendance.
• The Voyageurs played in Bottineau, ND, over the weekend. They defeated Dakota College - Bottineau 78-59 with Johnson and Young scoring 22 points apiece. RRCC lost 108-45 in the second game to Lake Region. Johnson had 12 points and nine rebounds and Young finished with 19 points.
• RRCC sophomore Samantha Alberts is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury.
