Saints women’s basketball struggles against the Storm

The hard-to-watch Saints 69-35 loss to the Chemeketa Storm Wednesday night in Salem was at least highlighted by the Saints refusal to roll over and call it quits.

MHCC, currently tied in last position at 2-4 in the Southern Region with the Linn-Benton Roadrunners, struggled with early scoring and shooting accuracy.
It was a rough road from the start with the Storm jumping off to an early 5-0 run, until Emily Burch put the Saints on the board. But from that point on, the Storm took full advantage of the Saints, with an aggressive defense and running an up-tempo offense behind sophomore point guard Janelle Weiss, who led the Storm with 19 points, four rebounds and five assists.

That aggression saw the Storm driving through the lane, taking their time with long-range shots and getting to the line, in the midst of their 12-0 early run against the Saints.

The Saints, who continue to struggle with shooting confidence, went 13 for 47 from the field. Sloppy ball handling allowed the Storm to converting 13 points off turnovers.

Going into the second half, the Saints had a hefty 21-point deficit to close. Despite an all-out effort and freshman power forward Kierstin Yates leading scoring with 12 points, the Saints were unable to get it done on the Storm hardwood.

The tough loss to the Storm follows a Jan. 21 win over the Southwestern Lakers, where the Saints won 68-61. Game leaders on offense were freshman guard Hannah Mocaby, who led Saints scoring with 18 points, and sophomore Kelsey O’Neil who had 16 points.

With season goals to win the Southern Region and the NWAACCS, the Saints women have to step up the intensity moving forward.

The Saints will play the Linn-Benton Roadrunners Saturday at home with a game start time of 4 p.m.