Lady Saints lose to Cougars after falling behind in the second half

It was a different setting but the same story for the MHCC women’s basketball team Wednesday night as they fell to the Clackamas Cougars 64-39 at home.

The Saints trailed 29-26 at the half but Clackamas pulled away at the start of the second half. The Cougars moved the ball around well, making the Saints struggle to keep up while putting the game out of reach.

Sophomore Melissa Carey was the leading MHCC scorer with 10 points, followed by freshman Hannah Mocaby with six points. Freshman Kelsey Barnes had 10 rebounds and sophomore Emily Burch contributed six assists.

The Saints, who struggled to hold onto the ball, had 28 turnovers that the Cougars converted for 24 points.

Head coach Jocelyn McIntire, who has spoken to her team’s lack of focus and mental toughness in the second half of games, was frustrated on the sideline, yelling, “C’mon ladies, let’s go. Be aggressive.”

Wednesday’s game was the Saints second loss to the Cougars.

In last Saturday’s game, the Saints were ahead at the half 32-27 but were unable to hold on against the Umpqua Riverhawks, who put the game away 74-63.

Barnes was lead scorer with 17 points, followed by Taylor Grote with 15 points. Burch had four assists and Barnes led with eight of the Saints 29 rebounds. But the Riverhawks outdid the women with 58 rebounds, 20 by Pua Kailiawa.

The Saints now have a 4-7 record in the South Region. They are tied with the Southwestern Oregon Community College Lakers for fifth place, leaving the women with just a slim chance of making the playoffs.

Last season the women finished fifth and just missed the playoffs. The top four teams from each region qualify for the NWAACC tournament.

The women will hit the road to take on SWOCC Saturday in Coos Bay. The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. They will play Chemeketa Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Gresham.The game is scheduled to start at 4p.m.