After a pair of losses in the national tournament brought an end to their season, the Madison College women’s basketball team ended the year with a 24-6 record, the most wins for the WolfPack since going 27-4 in 2015-16.
It was the team’s first appearance in the NJCAA Division II national tournament and the program’s eighth appearance at a national tournament.
Madison College, which entered the tournament as the 19th seed, lost in the first round to 14th seeded Mid Michigan College, 72-68, on March 16.
In the consolation round on March 18, Madison College lost to 11th seeded Community College of Baltimore County-Essex, 70-61.
The first-round game against Mid Michigan saw six lead changes and five ties. Both teams went on big runs at various points in the game, with neither managing to pull away.
Madison College entered the fourth quarter with a 48-45 lead and scored the first six points of the quarter to extend the lead to 54-45.
Trailing 56-49, Mid Michigan turned up its defensive pressure and took a 9-point lead with an 18-2 run.
Madison College battled back, with Serinity Metcalfe scoring 10 points in the closing minutes on a pair of three-pointers, a layup and two free throws. But the WolfPack was only able to pull within four points.
Metcalfe finished the game with 28 points, half of which came in the fourth quarter. She also had four rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Jamera Green added 17, including three baskets from beyond the three-point line. Maddi DeSmet scored 15 points and had nine rebounds.
The consolation game was back and forth until late in the third quarter, when Essex went on a 19-6 run to take a 62-50 lead after outscoring Madison College, 26-15, in the quarter.
The WolfPack pulled within 64-58 with just over six minutes left in the game but went cold after that, missing its final 13 shots of the game.
DeSmet finished a career-high 30 points, hitting 12 of 22 shots and 6 of 9 free throws. It was just her second game with 20 or more points this season.
Metcalfe scored 16 points, converting on 6 of 19 shots. She also had seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. Metcalfe scored 615 points on the season, the fourth most points scored in a single season in team history.
Sophomore Keelyn Zwirschitz reached double-digits with 11 points, adding seven rebounds and two assists. Fellow second year player Maia Ellis had a career-high 16 rebounds and a team-high seven assists.