MADISON, WISC. - The lone blemish on the Madison College women's basketball team's schedule was avenged Saturday with a down-to-the-wire 73-67 home win over #5 Rock Valley College during the 10th Annual Jam the Gym Alumni Weekend celebration at Redsten Gym. The win leapfrogged the #1 WolfPack past the Golden Eagles into first place in the North Central Community College Conference standings by 1.5 games, while also extending their current win streak to seven.

Freshman forward Rachel Slaney, who had missed a couple days of practice due to illness, powered through for her best performance of the season. Asked to play 28 minutes, Slaney matched a season-high 27 points - equaling her total from a December 20 win over Western Technical College - on 5-of-13 shooting and a 16-for-18 effort at the free throw line, where she made eleven straight to start. The former three-time all-state performer and two-time state champion at Barneveld HS also led the WolfPack with six rebounds, six assists, and two steals.

"She was Michael Jordan today," said coach Jessica Pelzel after splitting the regular season series with RVC for a second consecutive year. "She simply did it all. And for being as sick as she was, that was amazing."

An 11-2 run in the second quarter handed Madison College (23-1, 8-1) its biggest lead of the game at 33-22 with 5:37 to play before half, which ended with the home team ahead by eight. In the fourth quarter, Rock Valley (18-8, 7-3) made their charge, scoring seven straight points to even the game at 66-66 with 2:17 remaining.The 'Pack then finished off the win with six straight free throws, the final two coming from All-America guard Taylor Nelson, who returned to the team after missing nearly five full games from a knee injury early in the January 20 win over Milwaukee Area Technical College. Nelson came off the bench to provide six points, four boards, four assists, and a steal.

Two other players reached double-figures for Madison College. Mandi Sargent registered ten points and matched Slaney with a team-best six rebounds. The New Glarus, Wisconsin, product also blocked a pair of shots to improve her season-high total to 38, making it the tenth best season total in Madison College history. Addison Hemming added ten points and five rebounds to lead the WolfPack bench production.

Much like the first time they played, the Golden Eagles focused defensively on taking away the outside shot of sophomore Jenna Endres. Endres finished with nine points to end a 32-game streak with at least ten points dating back to January 31, 2015, while also marking just the ninth time in 53 career games she did not reach that scoring mark. The sharpshooter finished 0-for-2 from beyond the arc, making her two matchups with RVC this season as the lone games of her career without a made three-point basket.



Next up for Madison College are the final two road games of the regular season, starting Wednesday at Triton College (18-8, 6-3). The WolfPack have owned the Trojans, winning 13 straight in the series and all eleven matchups as N4C opponents. Last month's 75-68 win in Madison improved the all-time mark to 13-1 and began the team's current win streak. Game time in River Grove, Illinois is set for 5:00 p.m.