MILWAUKEE, WISC. - The rubber match between the Madison College and Rock Valley College women's basketball teams was played for a little more than bragging rights, and Sunday in Milwaukee the second-seeded WolfPack defeated the top-seeded Golden Eagles 57-53 to claim the NJCAA Division III Region IV Tournament Championship. It's the seventh region title in program history, and first since the 2009-10 season capped a run of six championships in eight years.

En route to the title, Madison College (27-3) also defeated third-seeded Joliet Junior College by a 60-55 margin on Friday. The WolfPack will take a four-game win streak into Tuesday's District Championship against the Mid-Michigan Community College Lakers (22-4). That game will tip off at 7:00 p.m. at Redsten Gym in Madison, with the winner advancing to the NJCAA Division III National Championships in Lincroft, New Jersey, starting March 10.

Following the championship run, a pair of WolfPack standouts received recognition for their efforts. Freshman Rachel Slaney was named Tournament MVP after amassing 45 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists, eight steals and two blocks in two games. The forward from Barneveld, Wisconsin, shot 43% from the field and finished 11-for-17 at the free throw line. Sophomore Jenna Endres joined Slaney on the All-Tournament Team after pouring in 24 points in two games to go along with eight boards, two assists, five steals, and a block.

Finals: #2 Madison College 57, #1 Rock Valley College 53

Having split the regular season series with Rock Valley College (22-7), the WolfPack blitz the Golden Eagles early with a 19-8 first quarter. Jenna Endres and Rachel Slaney led the initial charge with six and five points, respectively, in the first ten minutes. 

The second quarter played more competitively and the WolfPack owned a 32-22 edge at the half. In the third quarter Madison College opened on a 9-2 run to push the lead to a game-high 17 points at 41-24 with 4:29 to go in the quarter. That's when RVC made its move, scoring eight of the final nine points to get within 11 heading to the fourth quarter.

The Golden Eagles kept clawing away and pulled as close as three points on three separate occasions over the final three minutes. Key free throws by Mandi Sargent and Megan Petty helped seal the win and the title.

Madison College finished an impressive 24-of-49 shooting overall, despite hitting only one of their nine attempts from beyond the arc. 

Rachel Slaney led the charge with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while also collecting eight rebounds, five steals, and three assists. Sophomores Jenna Endres and Mandi Sargent also reached double-figures with ten points apiece, equaling a season-high point total for Sargent. The New Glarus, Wisconsin, product matched Slaney with a team-high eight rebounds, but made her biggest impact on the defensive side as she rejected a season-high eight shots. Endres did not finish the game after leaving late with a lower leg injury. Fellow second-year Megan Petty pitched in with seven points, seven rebounds, and a team-leading four assists.

The WolfPack have now won three of the last four meetings against Rock Valley, and the victory marks the first Madison College postseason win against their N4C rivals after two previous setbacks.

Semifinals: #2 Madison College 60, #3 Joliet Junior College 55

Madison College opened postseason play with a hard-fought win over Joliet Junior College (16-13) on Friday afternoon in the Region IV semifinals. The back-and-forth affair saw the WolfPack and Wolves change leads nine times. After leading 33-30 at halftime, the 'Pack held on to the advantage throughout the third quarter and owned a 44-43 edge to start the final quarter. JJC opened with an early bucket, but Megan Petty's jumper with 8:10 to play handed the lead to Madison College for good.

The WolfPack won the interior battle with a 28-14 advantage in points in the paint, despite trailing the Wolves in rebounds and second chance points. Madison College also cashed in on 19 Joliet turnovers for 16 points, compared to just nine points scored off of 14 'Pack miscues. For the game, Madison College sank 37% of their shots, including 4-of-15 on three-point tries. They were successful on 14-of-21 free throws, while JJC was a perfect 11-of-11.

Freshman Rachel Slaney scored a game-high 24 points as she made 8-of-21 field goal attempts and was 7-for-9 at the free throw line. The rest of the forward's statline featured a team-high in rebounds (8), assists (6), and blocks (2), while tying for team-high honors with three steals. Jenna Endres tallied 14 points as she connected on 3-of-7 from long range and a perfect 3-for-3 at the charity stripe. The sophomore also chased down six boards. Fellow sophomore Megan Petty was 5-for-7 from the field and finished with 11 points, her second consecutive game with double-figure scoring. 

Madison College won all three meetings with Joliet during the 2015-16 season, doing so by an average margin of victory of 7.0 points. The WolfPack have won six of the last eight meetings, and are 2-1 in postseason contests against the Wolves.