The Cyclones solidified their conference dominance and championship with an 89-65 victory over Elgin Community College on Sophomore Night.
With this win, Moraine Valley officially earned their 11th conference championship. They have been dominant all season, going 13-1 in the Skyway and averaging 86.6 points per game. This latest victory was no different.
Although the Cyclones had a slow start and Elgin kept things close in the first few minutes, Moraine Valley eventually started to pull away with solid shooting and tough defense. By halftime, the Cyclones were decisively ahead 46-31. They continued their dominating ways into the second half for their 26th overall victory.
Jadea Johnson continued her offensive prowess with 21 points while also collecting seven steals and nine rebounds. Isabel Lopez was on fire from the three-point line with 15 points, all on threes. Lily Hernandez scored 14 points while Shakila Brownlow finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Laila Houseworth had a game-high 11 assists.
"We are very ecstatic to secure the Skyway championship this year. We won every game by at least 15 points or more. We do have a lot of talent, and this is a very deep team where we don't have to count on one person to carry the load every game. The complete roster contributed to the success of this season. I truly believe we were the best team in the conference, but that is not an irresponsible comment; it is a compliment to the conference as I believe this was one of the most talented years for our conference," said Head Coach Delwyn Jones. "We also believe we have enough to make a lot of noise in the regional tournament. We lead the conference, scoring 86.6 points per game, and we have a lot of different ways to get those points. However, as our conference is tough, so is the region. We will definitely be tested in Region 4, which is much tougher than folks may realize nationally. In some ways, I'm more concerned about our region than the colleges we may meet at nationals. If we can get out of this tough region, I feel we can compete with a lot of teams at the national tournament."
The Cyclones start their run in Region 4 playoffs at home on Feb. 25 with the time and opponent TBD.