Fresh off dominance of Wentworth, Archers set sights on strong regular season finish
After a dominant, 91-45 bludgeoning of Wentworth Military Academy in their home finale, St. Louis Community College’s women’s basketball team is finding itself in a familiar spot. STLCC enters the final weekend of the regular season poised for what they hope is a fourth appearance in the NJCAA tournament under head coach Shelly Ethridge, including Ethridge’s 2010 tournament team with Meramec.
This year may represent the most improbable of the potential title runs, however, as the Archers have fought their way out of a considerable early season hole wrought with youthful mistakes, injuries, and disappointing production.
That rut was a distant memory last Saturday, as the Archers completed a string of four consecutive home games (including three victories) in their rout of Wentworth. That win was the team’s 14th of the season, guaranteeing them of no worse than a .500 regular season record, after a 2-8 start. Most notably is their unblemished record against Region XVI opponents, making the Archers a somewhat surprising favorite entering the Regional tournament next week.
STLCC’s recent title runs have been guided by 20-win regular seasons and superlative individual performances, but the 2015-16 Archers find themselves with similar postseason prospects, regardless.
The Archers close the regular season against Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley on Saturday. STLCC defeated Penn Valley 91-60 in the previous meeting between the two teams.
Mike Duffy’s Bar and Grill Player of the Week
Center Lashonda Brewer has saved her best basketball of the year for the final week of the regular season. Brewer contributed 14 points with five rebounds in the team’s win over Wentworth, before registering a double-double against Three Rivers on Monday, registering season-highs with 24 points and 17 rebounds.