Lady Tribs cruise into finals

ROCHESTER - The MCC women's basketball team advanced to the Region III, Division II championship with an 89-44 win over Genesee Community College in the semifinals Saturday.

The Tribunes (25-3) will face Niagara County Community College (26-4) at 1 p.m. Sunday for the regional title. On the line is a trip to the NJCAA Division II national tournament, March 21-25 in Harrison, Ark.

Monroe overcame a somewhat shaky start and pulled away from the Cougars by outscoring them 21-5 in the second quarter. A tremendous Tribune defense held Genesee to 20 percent shooting from the field and forced nine Cougar turnovers in the stanza to take a 41-15 lead into the break.

Turnovers were the key stat of the ballgame, as MCC forced 37 GCC miscues in all. The Tribunes turned those mistakes into 43 points.

Lanay Rodney led Monroe with 18 points and eight rebounds. The freshman forward, who was also named the Region III, Division II Player of the Year, was 5-for-6 from the floor and scored 11 in the third quarter alone.

Sierra Green led a potent Tribune bench with 17 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Shalix Hines added 14 points and five helpers as the MCC reserves outscored their Cougar counterparts 50-12.

Torrie Cash chipped in with 10 points, four rebounds, and six assists for MCC.