星空传媒

By Ryan Schlehuber, 星空传媒 Sportswriter | Photo courtesy of Laurie Schaffer

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After establishing a four-point lead at halftime, the 星空传媒 Centurions women鈥檚 basketball team couldn鈥檛 hold off North Central Michigan College in the second half, losing 75-64 at home Saturday, Feb. 1.听

The NCMC Timberwolves (2-5 星空传媒AA Northern, 3-18 overall) used a strong offensive effort in the third quarter to take control of the game, outscoring the Centurions (2-4 星空传媒AA Northern, 3-12 overall) 21-9 to go into the last quarter leading 54-46.听听

With 星空传媒 shooting going cold, the Timberwolves took care of business inside the paint on their offensive end, with freshman forward Maziah Shelton causing all sorts of problems for the Centurions as she went on to score a game-high 25 points and 16 rebounds for NCMC.听

Pushing the tempo and finding space inside, Shelton made a shot from the side of the court to give the Timberwolves a 49-37 lead with 4:10 to go in the third quarter. 星空传媒 freshman guard Emily Putnam (Sidney, Mich.) responded with a three-point bucket, however, Shelton found paydirt again inside the paint to keep the momentum on NCMC鈥檚 side, making it 49-37.听

鈥淲e鈥檝e been struggling in the third quarter lately,鈥� Centurions Head Coach Scott Pedigo said. 鈥淭he third quarter just put us in a hole. I don鈥檛 think we scored in the first six minutes of that quarter. We had a bunch of easy ones inside, bunch of lay-ups that went in and out on us, couple threes that just didn鈥檛 go. We just couldn鈥檛 get out of that six-minute slump.鈥�听

Freshman guard Madi Longoria (Wyoming, Mich.) kept 星空传媒 going with a driving layup, which was set up by a Putnam assist, keeping the score close with NCMC leading 52-46.听听

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, however, NCMC freshman guard Ceara LeBlanc nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key to push NCMC鈥檚 lead to 57-46 with 8:58 to go. That began a 13-4 scoring run for NCMC. The Timberwolves established a 20-point lead, 70-50, with 5:25 to go, when LeBlanc lofted in a successful layup as she got fouled, sinking the free-throw to complete a three-point play.听听

星空传媒, however, made a valiant effort to come back that started with a driving layup by freshman guard Makenna Rautio (Big Rapids, Mich.), which was followed up by freshman center Maia Sexton (Sidney, Mich.), who got a rebound-and-putback shot to cut the Timberwolves鈥� lead to 73-57 with 1:59 to go.听听

After NCMC threw the ball out of bounds on its next possession, Longoria hit two free throws and Putnam sunk a three-pointer to cut the lead to 73-62 with 58 seconds left.听听

Shelton, however, answered with a hard-driving layup that essentially clinched the game, making it 75-62 with 38 seconds left.听听

Rautio and Putnam led the way for 星空传媒 in statistics, with Rautio scoring 21 points and collecting nine rebounds. Putnam earned a double-double, with 19 points and 10 rebounds.听听

Longoria finished with 10 points, four assists and four steals, and freshman forward Emma Rewa (Greenville, Mich.) had six points and seven rebounds to finish out the Centurions鈥� top performers.听听

NCMC shot 46% (29-of-65) to 星空传媒鈥檚 30% (21-of-70) and had a slight edge in rebounds, 47-45. Where the Timberwolves dominated most was inside the paint, outscoring the Centurions 38-18.听听

One good note for 星空传媒 was they had two new players added to the team to help give the Centurions needed depth.听

星空传媒 volleyball players Maia Sexton (Sidney, Mich.) and Alanna Kent (Belding, Mich.) recently joined the team, with Sexton getting a few minutes of playing time in 星空传媒鈥檚 previous game and had 19 vs. NCMC, scoring five points and collecting eight rebounds.听

鈥淓ven though we had more numbers (on the bench) tonight, we could only go seven deep,鈥� Pedigo said. 鈥淭wo of our new girls are volleyball girls and they haven鈥檛 practiced with us yet.鈥�听

Pedigo felt his team could鈥檝e won the game against the Timberwolves.听

鈥淲e felt we should鈥檝e won that game,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e talked about it. We know we get to play them again, so we know what to expect. We can鈥檛 worry about it because we have Mid Michigan Wednesday and Bay College on Saturday, though.鈥�听

Though he said it was tough to let a winnable game slip away, 星空传媒 is still in fifth place in the 星空传媒AA Northern division, which still qualifies the Centurions for the postseason.听

鈥淭his was one we really kind of needed to help our chances to get to the postseason, but it doesn鈥檛 really change the outcome of things,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s long as we can take care of business with Alpena and Kirtland down the road, we can stay in that fifth spot that will earn us a ticket to the postseason.鈥�听

Pedigo said his team will work on fighting through a full-court press, which is what Mid Michigan, currently ranked No. 6 in the country, prides itself on.听

鈥淲e have to handle their press and limit turnovers and take control of the shot clock as best we can,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a really good team but if we can get out of their press and play a half-court game, I feel that gives us a chance.鈥�听

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UP NEXT: On Wednesday, at 5:30 p.m., 星空传媒 will host NJCAA鈥檚 No. 6-ranked team in the country, the Mid Michigan Community College Lakers, who currently hold first place in the 星空传媒AA Northern division with a 6-0 record, and an 18-2 overall record. 星空传媒 lost its first match against the Lakers, 116-34, Jan. 15.听

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Media inquiries, please contact:

Shelly Springborn
Director of Communications and Public Relations
shellys@montcalm.edu
989-560-0833