Rock Valley College loses second game in NJCAA D-II national tournament

JOPLIN, Mo. — After winning a program record 34 straight games, the third-seeded Rock Valley College Golden Eagles dropped their final two in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.

Friday, RVC fell to fifth-seeded Iowa Western 66-63.

The Golden Eagles led 13-12 after one quarter, but were outscored 11-4 to start the second and fell behind 36-26 by halftime.

RVC cut the deficit to seven at 48-41 heading to the fourth and went on top 59-58 on a 3-pointer by Jasmyn Hale with 3:27 remaining. Two free throws by Maya Mitchell gave the Golden Eagles a 63-60 lead with 1:24 left. The Reivers went on top 64-63 with two free throws with 15 seconds left and after RVC missed two shots Iowa Western converted two more free throws with four seconds left.

Hale missed a 3-pointer and Iowa Western rebounded to end the game.

Neither team shot particularly well. RVC converted 32 percent from the field and Iowa Western hit 37.7. The game was decided at the free-throw line where the Reivers hit 18-of-19 tries and RVC was 11-of-18.

Maya Mitchell led RVC with 23 points. Jasmyn Hale added 11 and seven rebounds and Beloit Memorial graduate Bre’Nazjah Davis had 10 points and four rebounds. Carly LaMay (Hononegah) had four rebounds and two points. Elli Teubert (Clinton) did not score.