CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- On Seniors Day at Hennessey Recreation Center, guess who made the game-changing plays down the stretch for the Mount Mercy women's basketball team? If you said seniors Catalina de la Quintana and Shanda Novak, you'd be right.
The lone seniors on the team accounted for the final four points of the Midwest Collegiate Conference contest, helping the Mustangs came back from a 13-point deficit to defeat the Saints, 64-61, in Saturday's regular season finale. The win earned Mount Mercy the No. 3 seed in next week's MCC Tournament.
The lead changed hands several times in the first half, with Ashford finally putting together a run that gave them a 10-point halftime edge. The Saints (8-20, 2-14 MCC) continued to play well after the break, and didn't allow the Mustangs (19-11, 11-5 MCC) to take the lead until there was 6:53 left in the contest.
Even after Mount Mercy surged in front, Ashford briefly took command again, going up, 59-53, with 4:53 to go. A layup by Kim Fabry was the only basket the Saints would get the rest of the way, however. The Mustangs would finish the game with an 11-2 run, capped by Quintana's layup with 1:02 remaining and Novak's two free throws with 14 seconds left.
Quintana finished with 15 points to lead all scorers. Novak narrowly missed her ninth double-double of the season, tallying nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with three steals. Junior forward Tonya Davis added 11 points, sophomore guard Ashley Koch six points, six boards, and a game-high five assists.
Bethany Mahmens led the Saints with 12 points. Kayla Crist hit three 3-pointers while scoring 11 points, while Kelly Fisher chipped in 10. Jessie Rosenow and Shel'si Weaver had eight points apiece, and Rosenow collected a team-high eight rebounds.
The 2010 MCC Women's Basketball Tournament opens on Monday with ninth-seeded Ashford (8-20, 2-14 MCC) at eighth-seeded Viterbo (Wis.) (7-23, 3-13 MCC). The winner of that game goes to top-seeded and 14th-ranked Iowa Wesleyan (22-7, 15-1 MCC) in Thursday's quarterfinals.
Other quarterfinal matchups on Thursday include sixth-seeded Waldorf (10-19, 5-11 MCC) at third-seeded Mount Mercy (19-11, 11-5 MCC), seventh-seeded Clarke (6-24, 3-13 MCC) at second-seeded and 18th-ranked Grand View (23-7, 13-3 MCC), and fifth-seeded William Penn (17-13, 9-7 MCC) at fourth-seeded St. Ambrose (23-7, 11-5 MCC).
Semifinal action is on Saturday at 2:00 p.m., with the MCC championship game scheduled for Monday, March 1. The higher seed hosts each game throughout the tournament. For final standings and tournament brackets, click here.
