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SIDNEY — In its last game of the regular season, the Montcalm Community College Centurions women’s basketball team was hoping to ride into its first postseason playoff appearance on a high with a win. However, Kirtland Community College had other plans. 

With its offense going cold throughout the four quarters, the Centurions (7-7 MCCAA Northern, 10-17 overall) suffered a 63-49 loss on the road to the Kirtland Firebirds (5-9 MCCAA Northern, 9-17 overall), Tuesday, Feb. 24. 

Now that the regular season is complete, the Centurions will prepare for their first NJCAA regional tournament game of its young, two-year history, which will be at Delta College Tuesday, March 3.  

Against Kirtland, the Firebirds established as much as an eight-point lead in the first half and held the lead since early in the third quarter. With 9:10 to go in the fourth quarter, however, freshman Kendall Stout (Stanton, Mich.) brought the Centurions to within three after scoring on a layup and getting fouled, sinking the lone free throw to make it 44-41. 

Kirtland, however, pushed the lead to 49-41 after a Lucy Hall layup with 4:45 to go. Stout’s 3-pointer 10 seconds later got the game back to a two-score lead, however, it was as close as MCC could get the rest of the way. Kirtland pushed its lead back up to 10 after a Kayla McCoy 3-pointer with 2:32 to go and then began sinking its free throws as MCC began fouling to stop the clock. 

MCC sophomore Emily Putnam (Sheridan, Mich.) pointed to her team’s cold shooting that was the result of the loss to Kirtland. 

“We honestly had many open looks but couldn’t get anything to fall,” she said. 

Putnam tied with freshman Baylor Syrjala (Lakeview, Mich.) with nine rebounds. The team was led in scoring by Stout who had 15 points, followed by Syrjala, who finished with 11 points. Freshman Karlie Bacon (Stanton, Mich.) had nine points, five rebounds and four steals. 

Putnam, who shot 4-of-13 from the field, said she and her teammates learned a valuable lesson from this loss, which she said will be helpful in the playoff game against Delta. 

“We learned that if our shots aren’t falling, we have to attack the basket and not settle for threes,” she said. “Kirtland fought hard and made some threes that really hurt us.” 

MCC, as a team, shot only 12% from the 3-point line, going 4-for-33, and shot only 26.1% from the field overall, shooting 18-of-69. 

Syrjala said the game definitely was not how the Centurions usually play. 

“We couldn’t hit many shots,” she said. “We sort of rely on the 3-point shot, so it can be a little degrading when we don’t shoot as well. Kirtland was also able to get offensive rebounds against us, which led to second-chance points.” 

Kirtland outrebounded MCC 59-34.  

Syrjala said if her team wants to win against Delta, they’ll need to be mentally focused, more than they were against Kirtland. 

“We learned that we need to come into the game more aggressive and ready to play,” she said. “The game against Kirtland felt like we were just going through the motions. We need to get ahead right from the beginning.” 

Delta and MCC split the two-game series in the regular season, with the Pioneers sneaking out an 80-79 win at home, Feb. 18, and MCC taking the first matchup 80-62, Jan. 28. 

For Putnam, remembering that feeling of losing by one at the end of the last game against Delta can be a source of motivation for her and her team. She said bringing some fire and grit into this next game and playing with a chip on their shoulders could benefit them. 

Syrjala believes if MCC can win the battle of defensive rebounds and limit second-chance scoring, the Centurions have a good chance to win. But, as Putnam pointed out, she also said the mental side of it will be just as important. 

“Mentally, we have to be completely ready to play,” she said. “We all have to come together to play for each other and work together to get a win.” 

Despite the loss to Kirtland, the Centurions team has already shaken it off and are feeling the excitement of playing in their first postseason game. 

“To me, this next game means win or go home,” Syrjala said. “Throughout high school, I never got the chance to win a district title and feel the feeling of actually winning a game where we can advance to the state tournament. This would be a great first step to achieve our team's goal of making it far in the playoffs.  

“I know for MCC, it would also be history in the making,” she added. “Winning a playoff game and then going on to play in the championship would be something each of us would never forget.” 

UP NEXT: The Centurions, the fifth seed in the NJCAA regional tournament, will travel to University Center to take on the third seeded-Delta Pioneers (9-5 MCCAA Northern, 16-12 overall) in the District A quarterfinal at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 3. The winner will move on to the next round to face District A #1 seed Lansing Community College (12-0 MCCAA Western, 25-3 overall), which will be held at Mott Community College in Flint, Friday, March 6.