RIVER GROVE, ILL. - A focus to find the paint paid off Wednesday for the Madison College women's basketball team as they opened North Central Community College Conference play with a 79-54 road win over NJCAA Division II Triton College. The WolfPack, who are receiving votes in the latest NJCAA Division III Poll, scored 56 of the 79 points from in the paint to earn their conference opener for the 11th consecutive season, a stretch that also includes the final years of the Wisconsin Technical College Conference.

A competitive and high-scoring first quarter saw five lead changes and two ties before the Trojans took a 22-21 lead on a jumper just ahead of the horn. A 9-2 run to open the second quarter handed Madison College an eight-point lead. Sophomore Megan Corcoran scored a dozen points in each of the first two quarters, capped by a jumper late in the half that gave the WolfPack a 43-36 advantage at the break.

The momentum continued in the third quarter, which saw another sophomore take over the game as Peyton Trapino scored nine consecutive points to start the half and ten total in the quarter. Freshman guard Jessica Kosharek also found a hot shooting touch with five straight baskets, helping the visitors close the ten-minute session on a 12-0 surge to blow the game wide open. The 'Pack won the quarter by a 23-6 margin and took a 66-42 lead into the fourth. Madison College grew its lead to as high as 33 points before settling for the 25-point decision after the Trojans (4-12, 0-1) rattled off the final eight points of the game.

Corcoran finished with a game-high 28 points for her tenth game with 20 or more points of the season, including each of the last three. The Madison, Wisconsin, native went 12-for-21 overall and made the WolfPack's lone three-pointer as the team shot 1-for-9 from deep. The 5'10" guard/forward filled the rest of the stat sheet with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks.

Trapino registered 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting with a pair of free throws. The former DeForest HS athlete dished out a team-leading six assists, to go along with two rebounds and two steals. Kosharek scored all ten of her points during the third quarter push and finished with five makes on ten attempts. First year forward and former Madison East HS athlete Jaylin Stueber secured a team-best 11 rebounds, marking her third double-digit rebounding effort of the season.



Madison College shot 34-for-68 on the night, giving coach Lois Heeren's club their third 50% or better shooting performance in the last five games and their sixth consecutive win overall. The WolfPack are now 16-2 all-time against Triton College after earning a third straight win in the series, and are 13-1 as conference foes.

Up Next: 

Madison College (9-5, 1-0) remains on the road to open N4C play and will face a still challenge Saturday, January 6 at Joliet Junior College (14-3, 0-1). The Wolves are ranked #2 in the DIII Poll, but dropped a 68-59 contest to defending national champions and #10-ranked Rock Valley College in their league opener. The WolfPack own a 16-11 edge in the all-time series despite dropping two of their three meetings last year. Game time is at 1:00 p.m. in Joliet, Illinois.

The game will be streamed live at MadisonCollege.TV, as well as via the Madison College Athletics Facebook and YouTube pages.

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