By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
East Peoria, IL---Uniqua Mitchell and Mackenzie Heacock led the Express in scoring as the No. 9 Express women's basketball team finished off their season with a 60-43 win over No. 11 Lake Michigan College in the NJCAA D-II National Tournament consolation championship game.
Lake Michigan was the defending national runner-up.
With the win, the Express (28-8) finished in seventh place for the tournament, which marks the program's best finish in the current 16-team format. The best finish ever was a sixth place finish in 2002-03.
The Express started the game a little sluggish as they trailed 4-0 with 17:20 left, but Mitchell drained a 3-pointer from the right wing and hit a running jumper in the lane to give the Express a 5-4 lead with 16:58 left in the half.
After a long 2-pointer from Lake Michigan gave them the lead back, Meshia Smith made a strong post move to the left of the basket for a lay-in to give the Express a 7-6 lead. They wouldn't trail again.
Smith made another lay-in with just under 11 minutes left as the Express closed out the half on a 23-5 run and led 28-11 at halftime.
In the second half, the Express scored first and led 30-11, but Lake Michigan's Breana Rivoli-Johnson started a mini rally to get her team going. It wasn't enough, though, as Heacock drained a couple big 3-pointers and the Express cruised. They eventually led by as many as 25 late.
Mitchell finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and one assist, while Heacock had 14 points, six rebounds and two assists.
Meanwhile, Smith continued to play well as she totaled 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
In rebounding, Karahn Scott pulled down 15 (nine offensive), while adding five points.
Rivoli-Johnson led Lake Michigan with 17 points, while Gloria Jeter added 12 points and seven rebounds. Lake Michigan finished 27-8.
Notes
With the win, the Express closed their season with the second most wins in a single year (28), which is one short of the record of 29 set in 1996-97.
Mackenzie Heacock was named to the NJCAA D-II All-Tournament team.
