From start to finish, strong defense dictated the outcome of Saturday's Region 19 North Atlantic District Championship battle between Roadrunner Women's Basketball and host Montgomery County Community College.
The Mustangs came out on the winning end, claiming a hard-fought triumph over the Runners to win their first-ever Region title and a berth in the NJCAA D III National Championships.
The second period proved to be the turning point for Montgomery when they outscored the Runners 12-4 in the frame to take a 24-18 halftime lead.
RCSJ fought hard in the second half, using a layup by Jermyra Bethea to take a 38-35 lead with 3:05 remaining in the game. But the momentum and the lead did not last as the Mustangs used 8 fourth-quarter free throws by Rachel Dunn to help the home team pull out the win.
Bethea paced the RCSJ scoring attach with 16 points while teammates Shannon Pierman and Anna DiPiero added 10 and 9 respectively.
The Runners end their season with a 24-6 overall record.