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For the first time this season, the Montcalm Community College Centurions women’s basketball team have earned a winning streak.  

With its 73-61 win at home against the Kirtland Community College Firebirds, Saturday, Jan. 24, the Centurions have now won back-to-back games, having beaten Alpena Community College, 115-46, the Saturday before.  

“It feels amazing,” MCC freshman Baylor Syrjala (Lakeview, Mich.) said. “We are finally playing closer to our potential.” 

Despite being outrebounded (57-38) and outscored on second-chance points (22-8), the Centurions (2-2 MCCAA North, 5-12 overall) used a feisty defense to create 20 Firebirds turnovers and cashed in 19 points from turnovers to KCC’s four points.  

MCC not only protected the ball, but its offense also passed it around, racking up 16 assists. 

“I think they are just feeling comfortable with offense; they are making good decisions that are leading to points,” Centurions’ head coach Scott Pedigo said. 

MCC never allowed KCC (2-2 MCCAA North, 6-10 overall) to lead the game once and built a 40-27 leading going into halftime. In the second half, the Centurions pushed the lead to 20 after a free throw from freshman Karlie Bacon (Stanton, Mich.) with 5:22 to go in the game.  

The Firebirds managed to cut the Centurions’ lead to just nine points when Elliana Sexton hit a jump shot, making it 53-42, with 1:16 to go in the third quarter. Syrjala then answered back with a jump shot of her own 28 seconds later. The Centurions pulled away in the fourth quarter, holding a double-digit lead for the rest of the contest. 

Syrjala said the team’s defensive press and work inside the paint made the difference in the game towards the end. 

“We made sure to press the last few minutes to put pressure on their ball handlers,” Syrjala said. “We also focused on boxing out because we were allowing too many offensive rebounds.” 

This is the third consecutive game MCC has scored more than 70 points in a game. Pedigo has been liking the team’s cohesion and its offensive output. 

“I think they are just feeling comfortable with offense,” he said. “They are making good decisions that are leading to points.” 

Pedigo’s freshmen players shined in this game. Kendall Stout (Stanton, Mich.) finished with a team-leading 19 points, collecting five rebounds and earning two steals and a block. She was followed by Syrjala, who almost finished with a triple double, scoring 14 points, collecting 10 rebounds and racking up nine assists. 

Two other MCC freshmen players pitched in with Emma Rehkopf (Belding, Mich.) scoring 13 points off the bench and Bacon scoring nine points and grabbing seven rebounds.  

Syrjala was happy with her individual game, crediting good positioning and the team’s success at running its system. 

“I think it was a little bit of both of those,” she said. “I found my teammates when they were open and we shared the ball really well.” 

Sophomore Emily Putnam (Sheridan, Mich.) scored 11 points and collected seven rebounds to round out MCC’s top individual statistics. 

With the win, the Centurions kept pace with three other conference teams, including third-place Delta College, which is 3-2. Bay College leads the conference with a 5-0 record while Mid Michigan is also undefeated at 4-0.  

MCC’s next game is tonight at home against Muskegon Community College, which currently is tied with Montcalm and Kirtland for fourth place at 2-2. Pedigo is hoping his team continues to play at the level it has been at over the past two games. 

“We have to keep playing with confidence and keep playing for each other,” he said. “We keep making unselfish plays, then the rest will take care of itself.” 

With two consecutive wins, Syrjala believes the Centurions are finally coming together as a complete team. 

“We are better at playing as a team now,” she said. “Everyone is starting to get more scoring opportunities, so we don’t rely on just one or two people.” 

Game time against Muskegon is at 5:30 p.m.