The top-seeded La Roche College women's basketball team captured its seventh straight AMCC championship title as they defeated #2 Medaille College 91-62, Sunday afternoon.
Both teams started out strong, as the first quarter started out in back-and-forth fashion, with Medaille senior guard MarceAnn Dunning scoring a layup off the tip and hitting a jumper just a few seconds later. The Redhawks responded back and the game stayed tight through the first five minutes of the quarter. That's when La Roche went on an 8-0 run, with senior foward Danasha Harris scoring four of those points, and eventually ending the first quarter on top, 25-15. The Redhawks kept their 10-point cushion throughout the second quarter, with senior forward TiChina Mitchell dropping 17 points in the second, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer that put La Roche on top 44-30 heading into the locker rooms at halftime.
La Roche really found their rythm in the second half, as they expanded their lead to 20 with three minutes to play in the third quarter. All but three of the RedHawks' third quarter points came from Harris, Mitchell, and senior forward Mackenzie O'Donnell. La Roche ran away with the game in the fourth quarter as they continued to increase their lead that they never relinquished. Mitchell was practically unstoppable, pouring in 33 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. O'Donnell and Harris each finished with 18 points, while junior guard Darrian Johnson chipped in with 11. Senior guard Sabrina McLin finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
Junior forward Dani Reinwald led the Mavs with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while senior guards Lauren Jensen and Dunning rounded out the double figure scoring wit 15 and 12 points, respectively.
La Roche will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Pairings will be announced on Monday.
All-Tournament Team:
Mackenzie O'Donnell, La Roche
TiChina Mitchell, La Roche
Dani Reinwald, Medaille
Taina Graham, Medaille
Ali Rinfrette, Pitt-Bradford
Heidi Langhorst, Penn State Behrend
Emily Gawlak, Hilbert
Jessa Wright, Mount Aloysius