RCTC women's basketball team powers through to win national quarterfinal
Mar. 13—ROCHESTER — It wasn't the prettiest victory the RCTC women's basketball team has had this season, but sometimes tournament time is about nothing more than surviving and advancing.
That's particularly the case this week as the Yellowjackets settle in to NJCAA Division III national tournament play on their home court.
After finishing as national runner-up a year ago, RCTC won't be picky about how it wins, so long as it keeps moving right in the 12-team bracket.
Thursday, the No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seeded Yellowjackets played their first national tournament game since last year's championship, and after leading No. 9 seed Joliet (Ill.) Community College by just four points at halftime, RCTC slowly pulled away in the second half for a 64-51 victory at Rochester Regional Sports Center.
Joliet was still within eight points after the third quarter, 46-38, but RCTC outscored it 18-13 in the fourth to win by 13.
RCTC (22-4 overall) will face a familiar foe in the Friday's semifinals. Fellow Minnesota College Athletics Conference rivals Northland Community & Technical College and Minnesota West Community College met in another national quarterfinal on Thursday. The winner of that faces RCTC at 4 p.m. Friday, with a spot in Saturday's 2 p.m. national championship game at stake.
Thursday, the Yellowjackets won behind a defense that forced 30 turnovers and held a 29-15 advantage over Joliet in points off turnovers.
RCTC shot 37.7% from the field and committed 18 turnovers, but made seven 3-pointers, compared to just two for Joliet. RCTC was out-rebounded 42-35.
The Yellowjackets leaned on Chatfield native Kara Goetzinger and Park Center High School (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) grad Nyomi Crushshon for their offensive production. Goetzinger, a sophomore forward, had a game-high 19 points and 9 rebounds, while Crushshon finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. RCTC guard Macaya Copeland was just 2-for-13 from the field, but finished with seven points and seven assists.
Joliet had three players score in double-digits: Demi Page (12 points, 7 rebounds); Jazlynn Foster (11 points, 7 rebounds) and Lovely Tua-Link (11 points).
Joliet plays in a consolation semifinal game at noon Friday against the loser of the Northland-Minnesota West game.
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