Lady Tribunes romp to regional title
MCC advances to the NJCAA national tournament.
ROCHESTER - The MCC women's basketball team picked a perfect time for its finest shooting performance of the season.
On the strength of 65 percent shooting form the field, the Lady Tribunes romped to an 89-49 victory over Mercyhurst North East to claim the Region III, Division II championship Sunday afternoon.
Next up for Monroe (26-1) is the NJCAA national tournament, which will be held MArch 17-21 in Overland Park, Kan.
Tournament MVP Fannisha Price capped a tremendous tournament with 17 points and four assists. The sophomore forward was 7-for-10 from the floor to back up her double-double in Saturday's semifinal win over Niagara.
MCC was on fire from the opening tip. The Tribunes hit their first eight shots and raced to a 17-4 lead less than five minutes into the game.
The Saints answered with a couple buckets, but Rose Ayala scored 10 straight Tribunes points as the lead ballooned to 21. Kiki Bynes then tallied seven points over the last five and a half minutes as MCC took a 52-20 lead into the break.
All told, the Tribunes were 21-for-30 from the floor, 4-of-6 from deep, and 6-for-6 from the line in a blistering display of shooting over the first 20 minutes.
The momentum continued in the second half as Monroe hit 11 of their 19 attempts to win going away.
Ayala finished with 16 points and nine rebounds to join Price on the All-Tournament team. Tyese Purvis was also honored on the team after scoring 13 to go along with five rebounds. The 2015 Region III Player of the Year was coming off a 23-point, 7-steal performance in Saturday's semifinal win over Niagara.
Bynes recovered from a tough shooting night Saturday to hit 6-of-9 from the field and finish with 17 to go along with 10 assists. Bailey Hixson chipped in with nine and Adre'onia Coleman had eight points and seven boards.
MCC held Mercyhurst to just 30 percent shooting, including 0-for-19 from beyond the arc.