Undefeated Rend Lake fights off SFCC women

The State Fair Community College women’s basketball team’s double-digit halftime deficit was too much to overcame Friday as the Lady Roadrunners fell 76-73 in a nail-biter to undefeated Rend Lake. 

“Second half was hard-fought but we have to stop digging ourselves in a hole by getting down early,” State Fair head coach Darren Pannier said. “Once again we faced a big 10-point deficit and the lead increased to 14, and that’s almost impossible to overcome. It’s hard to win ballgames when you give teams that big of a cushion.”

State Fair (7-4) overcame a 14-point lead late in the game to draw the score even with a minute to play, but a late fast-break basket helped propel the Lady Warriors (8-0) to a big win in the Moberly Classic.

Terranika Reynolds paced the Lady Roadrunners with 22 points and LaTice Jones contributed 17 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Tatiana Walker, who has become a staple in State Fair’s success, had nine points in the neutral-court loss.

Behind 11 first-half turnovers, the Lady Roadrunners faced a 36-26 deficit headed into the locker rooms. The shooting woes continued in the second half and Rend Lake stretched the lead to 14 with just 7 minutes remaining in the contest. 

Down with little time to play, the Lady Roadrunners kicked it into gear and brought the score within one point with just 1:51 to play. The Lady Warriors answered with a three-pointer, but State Fair continued its rally. 

The Lady Roadrunners answered with two straight buckets to tie the score at 73.

Rend Lake took the lead off a fast-break layup with seconds remaining and after a missed shot, State Fair was forced to foul. The Lady Warriors left the door open with a miss at the charity stripe, but State Fair couldn’t get off a clean look as the Lady Roadrunners fell to to another ranked opponent.

“We just have to limit mistakes and we have to play better defensively,” Pannier said. “We missed some defensive assignments and we have to remain poised in big games. Instead of setting the tone, we allowed them to score through turnovers, and it was an uphill climb from there.”

The Lady Roadrunners’ road woes continue as their record fell to 2-4 away from Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center.

State Fair will look to come out firing and set the tone early against the 6-2 Barton County Lady Cougars today at 2 p.m. in Moberly.