Another Impressive Victory for MCC Women; Cougars Hit 100-Mark

MANCHESTER – Shanika Hines (Manchester) scored 25 points and Jhenel Franklin (Windsor) had 16 assists as MCC beat Massasoit CC 100-43 Saturday afternoon at East Catholic.

Erika Murphy (Torrington) had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Cougars, who are now 3-1. MCC will forfeit Thursday’s 94-69 victory at Holyoke after inadvertently using an ineligible player. It was the Lady Warriors’ first loss after opening the season with three consecutive wins.

The Cougars opened the game up with a 33-4 run late in the first half and did not look back. MCC held 57-23 halftime advantage. Amanda Morales (West Hartford) had 20 points including four three-pointers and Katurah Andrews (East Hartford) had 14 points and seven rebounds.

“The women played really strong in the first half, they really picked up the intensity,” MCC Head Coach Robert Turner said. “A lot of deflections, a lot of steals – the type of basketball I know we should be playing.”

MCC hit the 100 point mark for the first time this season after putting up at least 94 points in each of its previous games.

Turner, a defensive minded coach, is warming up to his high scoring team and likes the way his defense is igniting the offense. “If you play good defense, you can get some easy lay-ups and opportunities for wide open three-point shots. I like our team to take a lot of shots and the only way you can do that is by playing good defense.”

The Cougars will have 10 days off before returning to action on December 2nd for an 8pm game against Springfield Tech at East Catholic.

“I’m not too worried about it,” Turner said of the pending down-time. “They deserve a little break. We’re becoming a mentally strong team. In the beginning of the season I thought we were a little fragile, but this game shows me there is a lot of growth and a lot of potential.”