Sports briefs: After opening-round loss, SLCC volleyball rallies in NJCAA tournament

By Globe Staff • Published November 25, 2014 • Filed under Sports • 0 Comments

No. 6-seeded Salt Lake Community College lost to No. 11 Missouri State University-West Plains 21-25, 25-23, 16-25, 21-25 in their opening match of the NJCAA National Championship in Casper, Wyoming.

The loss put SLCC into the consolation bracket, where they subsequently defeated No. 14 New Mexico Military Institute in straight sets (25-18, 25-23, 25-17) and No. 7 Western Nebraska Community College in a challenging five-set match (25-12, 23-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-13). In the 9th-place match, SLCC earned a four-set victory over No. 12 Polk State College, 25-14, 25-16, 22-25, 25-22.

Sophomore outside hitter Carol Grasso was named to the NJCAA’s all-tournament team.

The Bruins end the season 24-10 overall.

Men’s basketball cruises to home victories, remains undefeated

The No. 8-ranked SLCC men’s basketball team (8-0) opened up their home schedule on Friday, Nov. 22 and Saturday, Nov. 23 with a 91-76 victory over the Salt Lake All Stars on Friday and a dominating 123-60 win over Impact Academy on Saturday.

Freshman forward Marcus White scored 19 points and collected nine rebounds to lead the Bruins on Friday. Sophomore forward DeSean Parsons scored 19 points against Impact Academy on Saturday. Parsons is the top scorer for the Bruins, averaging 13.4 points per game this season.

After a week off, SLCC will host a tournament on Dec. 5 and 6.

Women’s basketball picks up two more victories

No. 10 SLCC won both of their games in Gillette, Wyoming last weekend, defeating Northwest College 72-64 on Friday and Gillette College 71-45 on Saturday.

After eight games, freshman guard Shelby Richards leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game. Sophomore forward Cassidy Whitney is the top rebounder (7.6 per game) and sophomore guard Raushan Gultekin has a team-high 30 assists and 29 steals.

The Bruins (6-2) will resume play after Thanksgiving in Rock Springs for the Western Wyoming Tournament. SLCC plays Central Wyoming on Friday, Nov. 28 and Western Wyoming on Saturday, Nov. 29. The next home game for SLCC is Dec. 4 versus Vegas Prep.