The latest example was the squad’s 74-57 loss at home to Mineral Area College on Jan. 16. The Vikings led 18-11 just before the end of the first quarter and showed they weren’t conceding anything to the deeper and more talented Cardinals. But the visitors’ superiority quickly manifested itself with a 14-0 run and by halftime, MAC was firmly in control, leading 34-22.
The gap widened to 47-30 late in the third quarter when Jefferson’s offense stirred to life. Sophomore guard Tajza Pratcher, a native of Cahokia, drained a pair of 3-point baskets and sophomore guard Marta Zori Canora (Barcelona, Spain) and freshman guard Tyra Brown (Pattonville High) each added a trey to spark a 20-7 run that shaved MAC’s advantage to only four points at 54-50 midway through the fourth quarter.
But the Cardinals rode the hot hands of two freshmen, Masyn McWilliams (Jackson, Mo.) and Natalia Lalic (Adelaide, Australia) to rebuild their margin and close out the game on a 20-7 run of their own. The pair combined for 37 points, exactly half their team’s total. Brown led Jefferson with 15 points, followed by Canora with 11 and Pratcher with 10.
The most telling statistic was MAC’s 2-1 advantage in rebounding, snaring 49 boards to Jefferson’s 24. That generated an abundance of second-chance baskets for the visitors, who simply wore down the roster-depleted Vikings, especially inside.
The host squad, meanwhile, couldn’t crack the interior of MAC’s defense and had to scrap for what they could get from long range.
“In preparing for Mineral Area we talked about their backline defense that they run; it’s really hard to get to the rim,” Jefferson head coach Ashley McGee said. “So we’re really trying to stress not relying on the 3-point so much and (we) kind of got away from that in the first half – went two for 10. In the second half we came out and didn’t have the best start. I was excited when (we) finally got on that run and got a little hot. (But) it was such that we couldn’t continue to capitalize on it.”
McGee had only eight players suited up for the game, with two of her freshmen leaving school in the first semester and two more out with illness or injury.
“We’ve had our share of ups and downs this year as far as bodies on the floor,” McGee said. “As a coach, you’ve just got to roll with the punches and take what you’ve got and make it work.
“I think we get to a point where sometimes Tyra and Briar Johnson are such good scorers that the rest of the team kind of relies on them to score the basketball. (It’s) essentially a one-against-five or a two-against-five and the other three girls are standing around.
“I commend the girls for fighting back as hard as they did. We got (close) before they went on that little run. I think at that point we were just exhausted.
“I thought the girls did the best they could.”
The loss dropped Jefferson to 5-10 overall while MAC improved to 13-5. The Vikings, however, already have equaled their victory total from a year ago, with 11 games left in the regular season. Even with a short bench, they showed enough for MAC head coach Gary Koch to take notice.
“I thought we were going to put them away, and we were testing to see if they could shoot the 3,” Koch said of Jefferson’s fourth-quarter uprising. “And instead of covering that and closing out on that properly, we let up and, boom. (Jefferson) got in a frenzy and did well.
“(McGee) has done a nice job with recruiting and with this team. It’s very much improved and hats off to (her). She’s doing a nice job.”
The Vikings’ two most recent Saturday home games (Jan. 12 vs. Lewis & Clark and Jan. 19 vs. State Fair) both were postponed by bad weather and will be rescheduled. Jefferson was slated to visit Moberly Jan. 23 (after the Leader deadline) and will host Crowder at 2 p.m. Saturday.