Lion women hand 'Hounds seventh straight defeat

Malori Gales and Jessica McAdams each posted double-doubles Saturday afternoon at Arnold Arena but those efforts were not enough as Fort Scott Community College's women went down to Brown Mackie, 81-71, in Region VI Division II play.

The Greyhounds haven't won since beating the Missouri Valley junior varsity on January 17 and haven't beaten another junior college since beating Neosho County at Arnold Arena on December 9. That's a seven-game losing streak overall and a 15-game skid against other junior colleges.

But the 'Hounds (0-7 Region, 8-19 overall) seemed ready to break through in the first half with a 14-0 run that put them ahead, 19-12, with 8:50 remaining in the first half. Post player Jessica McAdams scored 6 points during that run, giving Fort Scott an offensive threat in the paint.

Brown Mackie (2-5, 15-12) rallied back and took a 28-22 lead as Bryna Freemont's 3-point shot capped a 16-3 run over the next 6 1/2 minutes during which the Lions denied the Greyhounds any field goals.

McAdams broke the drought with 2:06 to go. Then Sierra Shoulders and Malori Gales each hit a pair of free throws to tie the score with 1:42 left in the half.

Brown Mackie got consecutive 3-pointers from Jasmine Davis and Hannah Mortimer to reclaim the lead, 34-28, going into the locker room.

Mortimer added another 8 points during a 9-4 run to open the second half.

The teams spent the next 12 minutes just about trading score for score. Gales hit a 3-point shot from the left wing for the 'Hounds with 4:40 to go, then made a couple of free throws to bring Fort Scott within 69-64 with 3:11 to go.

The Greyhounds weren't able to get any closer as Brown Mackie was able to hit free throws as needed down the stretch, going 10 for 12 at the charity stripe in the last 2:33.

McAdams finished with 18 points as she made 7 of 13 field-goal tries and also came down with 10 rebounds. It was her best game since scoring 23 and grabbing 10 boards against the Missouri Valley JV. In the seven games following that, she averaged 6.2 points per game, scoring in double figures only once.

Gales followed with 16 points while also bringing down 10 rebounds. Most of those points came at the free-throw line, where she was 9 for 12. Gales still leads Region VI Division II in scoring at 14.1 points per game, which is down about 1.3 points since December as defenses have been keying on her.

Denise Levine chipped in with 14 points for the 'Hounds. Garcia led Brown Mackie with 19 points and also handed out 8 assists. Mortimer followed with 17 points, Cheyenne Tull 12 and Tannon Slater 11.

The top two teams in Region VI get first-round byes in the six-team post-season tournament. The third- and fourth-place teams get first-round home games. The 'Hounds still have a chance, though it might be slim, to earn a first-round home game. First, they'll need to beat Hesston at Arnold Arena Wednesday night so they can earn a split in that season series.

BROWN MACKIE: Garcia 4-8 9-10 19, Cross 1-6 0-0 2, Freemont 1-5 0-0 3, Breaux 1-6 0-2 2, Slater 3-10 5-8 11 Winbush 1-3 0-0 2, Mortimer 7-11 0-0 17, Castillo 0-0 0-0 0, Tull 5-8 1-4 12, Torres 2-8 1-2 5, Smith 2-4 1-2 5, Stewart 1-1 0-0 2, Davis 1-2 0-0 3. TOTALS: 29-72 17-28 83.

FORT SCOTT: Shoulders 2-3 2-2 7, Levine 4-9 4-4 14, Valadez 0-3 0-0 0, Feldman 2-4 0-0 4, Gales 3-14 9-12 16, White 4-14 0-0 8, Cicero 2-3 0-0 4, Dellinger 0-0 0-0 0, Cole 0-1 0-0 0, McAdams 7-13 4-5 18, Wilhelmi 1-1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 25-65 19-23 73.

Halftime: Brown Mackie, 34-28.

Three-point field goals: Brown Mackie 8-19 (Mortimer 3-6, Garcia 2-4, Tull 1-1, Davis 1-1, Freemont 1-4, Torres 0-3).

Total fouls: Brown Mackie 22, Fort Scott 19. Fouled out: Shoulders.

Rebounds: Brown Mackie 46 (3 with 8 each), Fort Scott 46 (Gales 10, McAdams 10). Assists: Brown Mackie 14 (Garcia 8), Fort Scott 8 (Shoulders 2, Cicero 2). Turnovers: Brown Mackie 15, Fort Scott 21. Steals: Brown Mackie 14 (Torres 4), Fort Scott 7 (Gales 4). Blocked shots: Brown Mackie 2 (Winbush), Fort Scott 2 (Gales, McAdams).