Cedar Valley Moves Past Monroe - Bronx in NJCAA Tourney
ROCHESTER, Minn. – Dallas College Cedar Valley women's basketball team is moving on to the national quarterfinals.
Sixth-seeded Cedar Valley beat Monroe College – Bronx, 79-62, in the opening round of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Tournament Wednesday night at the Rochester Community & Technical College Fieldhouse. It sends the Suns (18-5) on to Thursday's 8 p.m. CT quarterfinals for a matchup with third-seeded Onondaga Community College (26-2).
It is Cedar Valley's second win in as many trips to the national tournament – the first coming in 2019-20. The victory also broke the program record for most consecutive wins. The Suns have won 11 in a row.
Suns forward Precious Jackson-Sanders scored 10 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter, helping Cedar Valley advance. Jackson-Sanders hit all five field goals she attempted in the final period as the Suns outscored the Express, 23-15, to pull away. She finished with 12 rebounds and two blocks.
Carmela Hayden had 16 points and two steals, going 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Deja Thomas had 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Ciana Fudzie had 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks.
Daysiah Smith finished with 27 points on 10 of 22 shooting, including 7 of 13 from the three-point line, six steals and four rebounds for the Monroe - Bronx, which fell to 16-17. Tymere Moorer had 14 points and six rebounds. Angeleny Cobos had 11 points and four rebounds.
Jackson-Sanders' putback on an offensive rebound gave the Suns a 64-51 lead with 5:24 to go. Jackson-Sanders' block led to a layup by Deja Thomas to bump the lead to 15. Nekayla Williams sank two free throws, and answered a layup by Smith with a basket of her own to make it 70-53. Monroe – Bronx's Davian Myers scored with 3:16 to go, but Jackson-Sanders converted a feed from Deja Thomas, and Kyra Lee buried a 3, giving Cedar Valley a 20-point lead the Express could not recover from.
The Suns never trailed in a game they outrebounded the Express, 49-33. Cedar Valley scored 30 points off 24 Monroe - Bronx turnovers. The Suns committed 12 turnovers in the first half, but cut that number in half in the second half.
Cedar Valley scored the game's first eight points, and built a 12-2 lead on Deja Thomas' layup at the 3:51 mark in the first quarter. Monroe – Bronx drew within in six on a steal and lay-in by Smith, but Hayden's 3-pointer on an assist from Vivian Nwabufo with 10 seconds left in the opening period sent the Suns into the second leading 18-8.
Jackson-Sanders knocked down a jump shot 4:19 into the second quarter to double Cedar Valley's lead to 22-11. Nekayla Williams scored 23 seconds later to extend the lead to 13. The Express went on an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to 26-22 on Smith's layup with 1:48 remaining in the half. Tyla Harper's 3 with 18 seconds left on the clock gave the Suns a 32-24 lead at the half.
Smith scored on a three-point play 2:07 into the second half as Monroe – Bronx pulled within two. Hayden hit a triple to push the lead back to six. Hayden sank two free throws to extend the lead to nine. Fudzie's basket at the 2:33 mark of the third quarter kept the Suns ahead by nine. After Smith scored to pull the Express within seven, Cedar Valley stretched its lead to 12 on three free throws by Jackson-Sanders and a layup by Deja Thomas. Moorer canned a three with 11 seconds left in the period to cut the gap to single digits again, 56-47, entering the fourth.
Cedar Valley outscored Monroe – Bronx, 17-4, in bench production. The Suns outscored the Express, 24-8, in second chance points.
Tune in to Thursday's quarterfinal game on the NJCAA Network or follow on live stats.