Riverland CC women’s basketball team trounces Dallas College Mountain View 77-45 in first round of NJCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship

The Riverland Community College Blue Devils women’s basketball team, ranked No. 6 in the nation and the No. 7 seed in the NJCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament took on tenth-seeded and No. 15 ranked Dallas College Mountainview in the first round of the tournament at Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester Wednesday afternoon, and it was the Blue Devils picking up a double-double from Camryn McQuery of 14 points and 16 rebounds to lead four players in double figures in scoring on their way to a 77-45 win.

Riverland jumped out to a 13-10 lead when a layup from Kenai Holien triggered a 12-0 Blue Devils run to make the score 25-10, and Riverland went on to lead 25-12 at the end of one quarter of play.  A jump shot from former Austin Packer Reana Schmitt with 4:45 to go in the second quarter made the score 33-16 in favor of the Blue Devils, and Schmitt later scored off of an offensive rebound with 3:31 to go in the quarter to give Riverland a 37-20 lead.  The Blue Devils closed out the quarter on an 8-2 run to make the score 45-22 at the halftime break, and they broke the game wide open by outscoring the Lions 19-4 in the third quarter and pushed their lead to as large as 38 points on their way to the win.

Riverland was 32 of 64 shooting from the field for a blistering 50% in the win, including seven 3-pointers, while holding the Lions to 17 of 61 shooting from the field for only 27.9%.  The Blue Devils also outrebounded the Lions 47-23 in the contest, plus they registered 21 assists to 11 for Dallas College Mountainview.  Riverland also piled up 28 points in the paint to 12 for the Lions, and the Blue Devil bench played a big role in the victory with 21 points to one for the Lions.

Besides McQuery’s 14 points, Savannah Longhoma and Nora Mecoleta both tallied 13 points, and Schmitt wound up with eight points, nine rebounds, three assists, one steal and all three blocked shots for the Blue Devils in the win.  Kenai Holein led the charge off the Riverland bench with 13 points, and Macie Werdel scored eight points in the win.

With the victory, the Blue Devils are now 22-5 on the season, and Riverland will now take on No. 2 seed Fulton-Montgomery in the tournament’s second round at 7:00 p.m. this (Thursday) evening.