PORT HURON, MI. - A furious fourth-quarter comeback came up just short Thursday night for the No. 16 St. Clair County Community College women's basketball team in a 64-61 loss against No. 22 Harcum College in the opening round of the SC4 Thumbcoast Tip-Off at the SC4 Fieldhouse. 

 

The Skippers trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half, and out-scored the Bears 14-7 in the final 10 minutes, but a last-second possession came up empty, giving Harcum the victory. 

"I thought they grew up a lot tonight in terms of competing and taking care of the little things," SC4 coach Mike Groulx said. "We were short-handed tonight, but I'm proud of the growth that we showed. I'm proud of the togetherness that we showed. It's a long basketball season, so hopefully tomorrow is another opportunity to take a step forward." 

 

SC4 will play No. 8 Mid Michigan College at 3 p.m. in the consolation round of the inaugural Thumbcoast Tip-Off. Harcum (Bryn Mawr, Penn.), meanwhile, moves onto the semifinal matchup against No. 3 Mesa (Ariz.) Community College at 7 p.m. 

"This will actually be our third straight ranked game," Harcum coach Garrett Horton said. "Our girls right now are going through the gauntlet, and that's what the beginning of the season is. It just gets you ready for that March run. I'm happy we get the opportunity, and that's what it is. These girls need to seize the moment, and create it and make it their moment." 

 

Harcum had four players score in double figures, led by Kelsey Bess, who had 13 points. Deborah Okechukwu and Camryn Graham each had 11 points for the Bears, while Piper McGinley had 10. Okechukwu added 11 rebounds. 

 

Bre Jefferson was the leading scorer for SC4, netting 25 points and adding five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Mackenzie Royal-Davis had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Skippers, while Bailey Gormley had 11 points and six rebounds. 

 

"As a team, we've been talking about this and preparing for this time, and they came out and punched us in the mouth in the beginning," Royal-Davis said. "We responded, and we worked hard the entire game." 

 

SC4 was able to make its fourth-quarter run by holding Harcum scoreless for 5 minutes. The 8-0 run didn't close the gap entirely, but it helped set up the late-game dramatics in a game that didn't appear as if it would have any. 

 

 

"We held them to one shot, we boxed out and every single (possession) we held them to one shot and they were done," Royal-Davis said of the run. "Then we had Bre, she took the ball the entire length of the court and really pushed the tempo, and got us back in the game." 

While Groulx and the Skippers didn't get the result they were looking for, simply being part of a high-level tournament like this is still a dream come true for him. 

 

"It's astronomical for me, personally," Groulx said. "Last time I was here in 2012-14, we were ranked top four in the country every year. So we had built something and we were on that level, and this was always a dream. Then I leave and go to the Division I level, retire from basketball altogether, and then to come back and finally get something like this going, it means a lot to me."