MADISON, WISC. - When sophomore Rachel Slaney knocked down one of her 17 made free throws with less than a minute left in the third quarter, the Madison College women's basketball team had just capped an 11 to 1 run to assume a 14 point lead. The double digit lead would almost evaporate in the fourth quarter as NJCAA Division I Sauk Valley Community College stormed back to within two in the fourth quarter before the #5 WolfPack secured their sixth win in a row to start the season by a 97-92 final Tuesday inside Redsten Gymnasium. The 97 points is the most scored this season by coach Lois Heeren's team, and the most since a 103-point effort against the College of DuPage in January 2015.

Despite a combined 47 turnovers, the game ultimately came down to Madison College using a 28-for-33 (84.8%) effort at the free throw line, finishing nine better than Sauk Valley (1-4) and helping negate the plus-18 advantage held by the opposition from the 3-point arc. The WolfPack also controlled the interior, grabbing 13 more rebounds (42-29) and scoring ten more points in the paint (38-28).

All-American forward Rachel Slaney continued her torrid start to the season, pouring in a career-best 39 points, to go along with a team-leading 13 rebounds, seven steals, and six assists. It's the first fifth straight game with 28 or more points and the second double-double of the year for the Barneveld, Wisconsin, native. Slaney was 11-for-22 from the field and 17-of-19 at the free throw line.



Four others were able to score in double figures. Freshman Cheyanne Jo Udelhoven tallied 18 points that included three 3-pointers and a perfect 5-for-5 mark from the charity stripe. Fellow first year's Peyton Trapino and Macy Graf scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. Graf, a native of Jefferson, Wisconsin, made all three of her field goal attempts, including one from distance, and was 4-for-6 at the line. Sophomore guard Jamie Falk was 5-for-7 overall for ten points. The Green Bay NEW Lutheran (WI) HS product just missed her first career double-double after reeling in nine rebounds.

The WolfPack used a 30-point second quarter to build an eight point edge at the half, with Slaney scoring nearly half (24) of the team's 53 first half points. Much of that was aided by 14 Skyhawks fouls to just three for the home team, leading to 16 first half free throw attempts.

Madison College (6-0) will enjoy a week off before resuming its homestand on Tuesday, November 22 against #9 Rochester Community & Technical College (0-0). The WolfPack own a 21-7 edge in the all-time series with the Yellowjackets, winning the last four meetings. Tip off is at 5:30 p.m. at Redsten Gymnasium and live video can be seen at MadisonCollege.TV.

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