Even the top-ranked team in the country can have a challenging offensive night. The good news for the Madison College women's basketball team was that a season-low 53 points was still good enough for a six-point victory over Joliet Junior College on Saturday in Joliet, Illinois. The win marks a third straight for the #1 WolfPack (19-1, 4-1), who remain a half-game back of first-place Rock Valley College and tied with Milwaukee Area Technical College in the North Central Community College Conference (N4C) standings.

Freshman Rachel Slaney scored six early points as Madison College jumped out to a 10-0 advantage, eventually owning a 15-4 lead after the first quarter. The game remained competitive over the next two quarters with the 'Pack maintaining a double-digit edge that grew to as much as 18 after a Mandi Sargent jumper in the paint made it 45-27 with 1:50 to go in the third.

The fourth quarter, though, would belong to the homestanding Wolves (11-9, 2-3), as a 12-0 run trimmed the Madison College lead to 49-47 with 1:37 to play. During that four-minute-plus stretch, the 'Pack committed three turnovers and missed two shot attempts. They went on to miss four more jumpers over the final 90 seconds, but were good on 4-of-4 attempts at the free throw line to close out a second road N4C win.

The two teams combined for 30 turnovers, led by the WolfPack's 17, while also shooting a collective 37-of-114 (32%) overall. Madison College did shoot better from beyond the arc, going 3-for-13 with two more makes on one less attempt than JJC, and at the charity stripe with a 12-of-14 effort. Another decisive stat was on the glass, where the visitors dominated by a 49-31 margin.

Jenna Endres made all three of the Madison College triples as part of a 8-for-21 performance overall to finish with a game-high 24 points. The sophomore, who hit 5-of-6 free throws, was the lone player in double-figures and stretches her streak of games with ten or more points to 29. Rachel Slaney fell a point shy of a seventh double-double putting up nine points and ten boards. Mandi Sargent added eight points, Megan Petty had four, and Addison Hemming was the lone bench player to score with two points.

All-America guard Taylor Nelson did not play in the game due to a leg injury suffered in the prior contest against MATC-Milwaukee. For Nelson it marked the first game of her career she did not play or start in, ending a streak of 48 straight. The sophomore, whose averaging 12.8 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.8 rebounds a game this season, is expected to return to the team.

Madison College remains on the road to play Harper College (4-16, 0-5) on Wednesday, January 27 at 5:00 p.m. The WolfPack own a 10-2 record all-time against the Hawks, including taking eight straight since the 2012-13 season.