Lady Tribunes hold off ASA for Pavia title
MCC remains unbeaten with the win.
ROCHESTER - The MCC women's basketball team earned a signature victory Sunday, defeating ASACollege 77-69 in the finals of the 23rd annual Pete Pavia Memorial Scholarship tournament.
The Tribunes, who are ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division II, moved to 13-0 with the win. The Avengers came into the game ranked 22nd in the NJCAA Division I ranking, but left with their first defeat of the season.
Tournament MVP Kiki Bynes finished with 15 points, seven assists, and five steals for Monroe. Adre'onia Coleman had a huge game for the Tribunes. The sophomore was 11-of-16 from the floor and scored a game-high 24 to go along with seven rebounds and six assists.
The teams battled back and forth in the first half. The Avengers led by six early on before Monroe climbed back in it. MCC took its first lead at 13-12 on a layup by Deja Carroll with 3:08 left in the opening quarter.
The lead went back and forth until the final seconds of the quarter, when Abby White drained a 3 at the buzzer to give MCC a 20-18 advantage.
ASA reclaimed the lead at 30-28 with 3:21 left in the second before Monroe went on a 10-2 run to close out the half.
Bynes hit a 3 to put MCC up 31-30. Chelsea Steinruck then hit a pair of free throws and Naje Gibson scored inside to put Monroe up five.
ASA answered with a jumper, but Bynes hit a running 3 off the glass at the horn to stake MCC to a 38-32 lead at the break.
Colemand took over in the third quarter, hitting 4-of-5 shots and scoring eight as MCC carried the six-point lead into the fourth. The Tribunes pushed the lead to as much as 12 over the final frame before holding off a late ASA charge to come away with the win.
Gibson finished with 10 points and six boards and Steinruck and Shanice Johnson added eight points apiece. Steinruck joined Bynes and Coleman on the all-tournament team after scoring 18 on Saturday.