WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NEWS

1st Round Exit-3/5

The Macomb Lady Monarchs traveled to Toledo, OH to play against the #6 team in the nation the Owens Lady Express.  In the first game of the Regional Tournament, the Lady Monarchs loss by a score of 92-54.  The under staffed Macomb team put up a good effort in the first ten minutes of the game but after that, the volcano named the Lady Express erupted and crushed everything in it’s path.  Macomb shot 32% from the floor and 45% from the free throw line.  Owens pounded Macomb on the boards 61-37 and the Lady Monarchs only turned the ball over 16 times.  Finishing an impressive freshman season was Chanequa Hills compiling 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assist.  Sophomore Nakisha Adray recorded 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block.  Macomb finishes the season with a 11-14 overall record. 

 

Sophomore Day-2/20

Saturday’s game honored Macomb’s graduating sophomores as they played their last home game as a Macomb Monarch.  Lauren “Doctor” Quinn, NaKisha “Coldplay” Adray, Meredith “Three-Arrow” Smith and Jessica “Chef” Phillips accomplished many things on the court but their exploits as students are remarkable and the future is bright for each of these young women.  As the pregame ceremonies concluded, the Macomb Lady Monarchs were ready to duel with the Kirtland Lady Firebirds.  The Mighty Monarchs didn’t disappoint as they won their third straight game by a score of 59-47.  Macomb’s defense pilfered 15 steals, forced 24 turnovers and held Kirtland to 34% shooting from the floor.  Kirtland held the rebounding edge 35-34 but Macomb crushed every attempt by the Lady Firebirds to crawl back into the game.  Playing the leading role in the win was none other than freshman Chanequa "Handles the Pill" Hills.  Hills directed the offense with the prowess of an army general and compiled 17 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 block.  Lauren Chase added 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.  As the regular season concludes, Macomb improves to 7-9 in the conference and 11-13 overall as they head to the Regional Tournament at Owens College in Toledo, OH. 

 

Redemption-2/17

In an earlier season match up between the Lady Monarchs of Macomb and the Lady Pioneers of Delta, Macomb was mortified as they imploded down the stretch and loss the game 89-75 in overtime.  The rematch would prove to be a different story!  Armed with motivation to avenge the previous game and Coach Ritchie’s constant preparation; Macomb played with tenacity and raced to a 66-58 victory.  Macomb held the rebounding edge 48-36, forced 18 turnovers and quelled the usually lethal shooting of Delta to 12% from behind the arc and 28% overall.  The backcourt play of freshman guards Chanequa Hills and Jasmine Flanagan proved to be pivotal at setting the tempo and seizing control of the game.  Spearheading the charge was Chanequa “Handles the Pill” Hills; Hills played exquisitely compiling 23 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 1 block.  Flanagan added 9 points but was essential in driving to basket and placing Delta in foul trouble.  On the block creating havoc were Kisha Adray and Brittany Chapman.  Adray had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 ferocious blocks; while Chapman dominated the boards with 11 and 6 points.  The Lady Monarchs improve their record to 6-9 in the conference and 10-13 overall. 

 

Return to Winning-2/13

The Macomb Lady Monarchs hosted the Mott Lady Bears and from the opening tip assumed control and never looked back.  Macomb won the game by a score of 71-44.  Macomb crashed the boards with intensity and posted a huge rebounding edge of 52-28.  The Lady Monarchs defense was stout as well, they held Mott to 31% shooting for the game, forced 16 turnovers and recorded a season high of 8 team blocks.  The Lady Monarchs’ trio of Jessica Rombach, Jasmine Flanagan and Lauren Chase led the way!  Rombach recorded 11 points and 6 rebounds.  Flanagan weaved in and out of traffic and posted 10 points and 6 assist.  Chase imposed her physical dominance and compiled 10 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.  Macomb improves their record to 5-9 in the conference and 9-13 overall. 

 

Run & Gun-2/6

The Macomb Lady Monarchs battled with the Henry Ford Lady Hawks on Saturday and were beaten by a score of 88-74.  From the opening tip, Henry Ford ran the run and gun offense of the Phoenix Suns.  In the first half alone, Henry Ford took 54 shots and off three pointers they scored 42 points for the game.  Macomb out rebounded Henry Ford 48-41 but turned the ball over 36 times.  Even though Macomb shot 49% from the floor for the game, the Lady Monarchs couldn’t keep up with the pace of Henry Ford.  Chanequa “Handles the Pill” Hills drove the ball to the cup effortlessly on her way to wonderful afternoon.  She shot 77% from the floor compiling 31 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals.  Meredith Smith dropped 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.  Macomb’s record falls to 4-9 in the conference and 8-13 overall. 

 

Second Half Collapse-2/3

The Macomb Lady Monarchs played host the St. Clair Lady Skippers Wednesday night and for the first half imposed their will upon St. Clair.  Macomb with a stifling defense walked into the locker room with a confident 31-28 halftime lead.  However, the second half would prove to be very different.  The Lady Monarchs shot an abysmal 23% from the floor and only scored 21 total points.  The end result for the third straight game was a Macomb loss by a score of 61-52.  Macomb was led by the backcourt tandem of Jasmine Flanagan and Chanequa Hills.  Flanagan led the team in scoring with 11 points and 3 steals.  Hills played aggressive compiling 6 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.  Macomb falls to 4-8 in the conference and 8-12 overall. 

 

Miscues-1/30

The Macomb Lady Monarchs traveled to Waterford to play the Oakland Lady Raiders on Saturday, January 30th.  The Lady Monarchs fought a good fight but ended the game in another painful loss by a score of 67-57.  Oakland out rebounded Macomb 33-29 and forced the Lady Monarchs into 25 turnovers.  Several miscues in crunch time caused Macomb to let a winnable game slip through their fingers.  Chanequa Hills and Meredith Smith continue to lead the Lady Monarchs.  Hills compiled 9 points, 5 assists and 4 steals, while Smith recorded 9 points & 4 assists.  The unsung award goes to a pair of post players, NaKisha Adray and Brittany Chapman.  Adray finished with 9 points & 4 rebounds and Chapman collected 7 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals.  The Lady Monarchs record falls to 4-7 in the conference and 8-11 overall.  

 

Dominated-1/23

The Macomb Lady Monarchs played the number one team in the nation, the Schoolcraft Lady Ocelots and loss by a devastating score of 90-30.  Macomb’s inability to shoot, pass or penetrate was evident in their 30 turnovers and 11 field goals made.  Macomb shot 19% from the floor and only scored 9 points in the second half.  Schoolcraft out rebounded Macomb 48-31; Chanequa Hills led Macomb with 9 points and 2 rebounds.  Macomb’s record falls to 4-6 in the conference and 8-10 overall. 

 

Defense…Defense-1/20

The Macomb Lady Monarchs traveled to Mio, Michigan to face the Kirtland Lady Firebirds.  The gym was cold but the intensity of the Monarch defense spurred the Macomb offense to avenge an earlier season loss to Kirtland by a score of 58-35.  Macomb’s defense forced 31 turnovers and posted 41-37 rebounding edge over Kirtland.  The most impressive number that Macomb's defense produced was holding the Lady Firebirds to 11 made shots on 24% shooting.  The defensive intensity was pushed by sophomores NaKisha “Coldplay” Adray and Lauren “Dr.” Quinn.  Adray was fierce turning in 6 points, 2 blocks and 3 steals.  Quinn was equally important in the defensive scheme as she applied pressure on the perimeter and pilfered 4 steals.  A dynamic performance was turned in by freshman Chanequa "Handles the Pill" Hills.  Hills was everywhere on the court registering 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block.  Macomb improves to 4-5 in the conference and 8-9 overall. 

 

Free Throws-1/16

The Macomb Lady Monarchs played host to the Delta Lady Pioneers on January 16th and fought their way into the game but luck was not on their side as Delta won 89-75 in overtime.  The Achilles heel of the Monarch's loss was free throws.  Macomb was up as many as six points with two minutes remaining and couldn’t sink free throws to bury the game.  Macomb went 7/19 down the stretch from the stripe.  Delta forced overtime and completely dominated in the overtime session, outscoring Macomb, 18-4.  Macomb was led by Agent Smith; Meredith Smith compiled 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals.  Lauren Chase resembled George Mikan as she commanded position around the basket and registered 12 points and 6 rebounds.  Macomb falls to 3-5 in the conference and 7-9 overall.

 

Redemption-1/13

The Macomb Lady Monarchs played a fierce Mott Lady Bears team that wouldn’t quit!  After suffering two straight losses against Mott, Macomb snapped the streak last night winning 67-56.  Macomb’s defense proved to be pivotal in the last five minutes of the game.  They forced Mott into several bad shots causing the Lady Bears to shoot 33% from the floor.  Macomb also forced 27 turnovers and out-rebounded Mott 42-37.  The German Assassin Jessica Rombach led all scores for the second consecutive game with 16 points and 6 rebounds.  Another solid performance was turned in by Meredith Smith compiling 11 points and 2 steals.  Brittany Chapman also showed her low post ability by registering 8 points and 8 rebounds.  The Lady Monarchs increased their winning streak to two games and improve their record to 3-4 in the conference and 7-8 overall. 

 

Press Breaker-1/6

The women’s basketball team was pumped and ready to play after being on a two game skid!    Macomb battled with a very tough Henry Ford team.  Henry Ford’s stifling defensive pressure rattled the Lady Monarchs and forced Macomb into 32 turnovers.  However, shooting 52% from the field and Coach Ritchie’s game adjustments helped Macomb prevail to a win by a score of 81-70.  Every time Henry Ford made a run the German Assassin Jessica Rombach shooting from her Russian Kalashnikov, dropped stepped into the paint and obliterated any chance of a comeback.  Rombach went 16 of 21 from the floor, scoring a total of 33 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block.  Meredith Smith compiled 10 points, 6 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.  The Lady Monarchs improve their record to 2-4 in the conference and 6-8 overall. 

 

Missed Opportunities-1/2

The Macomb Lady Monarchs came off a two week break for the holidays to play against the St. Clair Lady Skippers.  The rust was evident in Macomb’s execution and they loss by a score of 71-55.  For long stretches in the game, Macomb went scoreless, either to turnovers or bad shot selection.  From there the Lady Skippers continued to execute increasing the lead to twenty points.  The bright spot for Macomb was sharpshooter Meredith “Three-Arrow” Smith.  She led the way with 14 points and freshman Chanequa “Handles the Pill” Hills scored 8 points.  Macomb's record falls to 1-4 in the conference and 5-8 overall. 

 

Round 3-12/23

In the final and deciding round of the Macomb-Alpena match, Macomb loss in the waning moments by a score of 59-53.  Macomb was atrocious from the floor.  In the first half they only shot 19% and in the second half they were slightly better with 27% from the field.  Macomb did out rebound the Lady Lumberjacks 50-35 but they weren’t able to take advantage of their rebounding edge.  The Lady Monarchs made a late run to tie the game on the jump shooting of Jessica Rombach but failed in the end to finish the game.  Macomb was lead by Lauren Chase’s 8 points and 9 rebounds.  Brittany Chapman added 8 points and 7 rebounds.  Macomb falls to 5-7 overall and 1-3 in the conference.     

 

Round 2-12/22

The Lady Monarchs avenged their earlier tournament loss to the Alpena Lady Lumberjacks last night 67-45.  Macomb played stifling defense forcing Alpena into 38 turnovers and 37% from the floor.  Macomb was lead by Katie D’Hondt with 13 points and 2 steals.  Adding to the onslaught against Alpena was Meredith Smith with 11 points, 5 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks.  Macomb will play Alpena for the last time this season on December 23rd at 1:00pm.

 

Woeful Shooting-12/16

The Macomb Lady Monarchs resumed their conference play last night and looked to redeem themselves after a humbling earlier conference loss.  Macomb matched wits with Oakland Community College and fell short by a score of 75-62.  Macomb was off target all night, it was a point during the game that the Lady Monarchs missed ten straight shots. It seemed as if the basket had the security of Fort Knox and the Secret Service because of this Macomb shot an extremely bad percentage of 26% for the game.  They were 20% from behind the arc and 58% from the stripe!  The bright spot for Macomb was freshman guard Jasmine Flanagan’s play.  Jaz shot 50% from the floor compiling 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assist.  Chanequa Hills posted 10 points and 8 rebounds.  Macomb falls to 0-2 in the conference and 4-6 overall.  Macomb will try to avenge last weekend’s loss to Alpena on December 22nd. 

 

Holiday Inn Thunder Bay Classic-12-11&12

The Macomb Lady Monarchs traveled to Alpena to play in the Holiday Inn Thunder Bay Classic.  Macomb was matched up against Alpena CC in the first game and due to a late game surge by Alpena, Macomb loss by a score of 61-58.  After a day of rest and rejuvenation, Macomb played for third place against Kirtland CC.  The pace of the game was up and down the court.  In the last minute of the game up by six, it looked as if Kirtland would finally pull away.  But saving the day with a pair of three pointers shot by Katie D’Hondt and Meredith Smith tied the score at 61 with ten seconds on the clock.  Kirtland advanced the ball to their end of the floor and Jessica Rombach was firmly planted in the ground with her arms extended and then it happened the whistle blew.  A terrible call made by the ref with two seconds remaining on the clock, gave Kirtland a chance to win the game by shooting free throws.  Kirtland sank the first and intentionally missed the second and Macomb heaved a desperation shot that flew out of bounds as time expired, losing by a score of 62-61.  Meredith “Three Arrow” Smith made the All-Tournament team.  She averaged 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals for the weekend.  Macomb’s record is 4-5 overall and will face their conference foe Oakland CC at home on December 16th at 5:30pm. 

 

Attack-12/8

Macomb opened the game pushing the ball and attacking the basket and never looked back as they beat Olivet College by a score of 68-47.  The Lady Monarchs shot 44% from the field and out rebounded Olivet 39-31.  Every time Olivet made a run, Macomb’s stifling defense forced turnovers to push the lead back to twenty points.  Spearheading the Macomb charge was freshman forward Lauren Chase compiling 12 points and 6 rebounds.  Showing her skills in a major way was Chanequa Hills filling up the stat sheet with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block.  Sophomore Nakisha Adray battled her way to 9 points and 5 rebounds.  Macomb improves their overall record to 4-3 and 0-1 in the conference.  Macomb will head to Alpena on December 11th to play in a weekend tournament.

 

Macomb's Own

Coach Jay Ritchie has seen a lot of basketball.  He was an athlete at Macomb and now is the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Macomb.  Recently, Ritchie was interviewed by the C & G Newspaper chronicling his achievements and the elation he has being the coach of the Macomb Women’s Basketball team.  Read the story here!

 

Turnovers-11/19

The Macomb Lady Monarchs matched wits against the Siena Heights Lady Saints last night and fell short by a score 56-50.  The game was riddled with mistakes by both teams; the outcome was decided by the team with the fewest mistakes down the stretch.  Although, there was a disparity of fouls calls between Macomb and Siena going in the favor Siena, the Lady Monarchs had their chances to seal the deal!  As a team Macomb shot 35% from the field for the entire game.  Macomb was lead by sophomore forward Meredith “Three-Arrow” Smith torching the nets going 4 for 6 from behind the arc scoring 12 points.  Other contributors were Chanequa Hills and Jasmine Flanagan.  Hills complied 4 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals, while Flangan was solid with an 8 point and 3 assist effort.  Macomb is 2-2 and will face Marygrove on November 25th at home.  

 

Across the river-11/7

The Macomb Lady Monarchs traveled across the Ambassador Bridge to battle with St. Clair College of Windsor.  Macomb fell short by a score of 64-53.  The Lady Monarchs shot 30.5% from the field and forced twenty-eight turnovers.  Macomb was led by freshman guard Chanequa Hills; she recorded a game high twenty-three points, nine rebounds, five steals and shot 50% from the field.  Freshman forward Lauren Chase added six points and six rebounds to the game.  Macomb drops to 1-1 and will square off against Concordia University on November 11th in Ann Arbor.      

 

Season Opener-11/4

Last night was the Macomb Lady Monarchs season opener and they didn’t disappoint as they beat the Rochester Lady Warriors by a score of 65-53.  In the first half, Macomb shot an abysmal 27% from the field but improved to shoot 40% in the second half to take control of the game.  Rochester outrebounded Macomb 47-34 but it was the pressure defense of the Lady Monarchs that was the key reason that Macomb prevailed.  Macomb had 17 steals as a team and forced a total of 33 turnovers.  The one-two punch of sophomore Meredith Smith and freshman Katie D’Hondt led Macomb to the victory!  D’Hondt went 66% from the field scoring a total of 12 points and Smith scored 10 points.  Freshman Breanna McFadden had a good game as well compiling 9 points, 4 rebounds and 5 steals.  Macomb is 1-0 overall and will head across the bridge Saturday, November 7th to play St. Clair College of Windsor!  

 

Season Preview

The Macomb Women’s Basketball program has worked all season to recover from a tumultuous 2008-09 season.  The mood is bright around the program.  New Head Coach Jay Ritchie has taken over the program and asserted his basketball knowledge to correct the mistakes of last season.  The Lady Monarchs are returning four sophomores, Meredith Smith, NaKisha Adray, Lauren Quinn and Meghan Kmiecik.  Smith should once again prove that she can knock down shots from beyond the arc and Adray coming off a shoulder injury is ready to prove she still has the ability to command the lane.  Kmiecik is strong at shooting the ball but has shown the ability to put the ball on the floor and distribute.  Quinn is able to play good defense and play at a fast pace.  With four returning sophomores, Coach Ritchie hit the recruiting trail hard capturing several young ladies that are ready return Macomb to postseason play.  Freshman guard Jasmine Flanagan is able to effectively control the offense and play solid defense.  Nicole Franey is a low post threat that can score with both hands and the speed and quickness of Chanequa Hills will be an excellent way speed up the tempo of the game.  Macomb opens its season on Wednesday, November 4th at 5:30pm against Rochester College.

 

Macomb hires Jay Ritchie as the new Women's Head Basketball Coach

It is with great pleasure to introduce Jay Ritchie as Macomb's new Head Coach for Women’s Basketball.

Ritchie comes to Macomb with many years of both high school and college level experience, as a coach and a player. He is a former Macomb College two-sport athlete, participating in men’s basketball and tennis.

Ritchie's experience in coaching the game at all levels and his immediate contacts in the tri-county area brings Macomb the quality and consistency needed to build and reposition the women’s basketball program.

Rtchie is an educator through and through. With his full-time commitment at DeLaSalle High School along with many years of high school coaching at Lakeview, Southlake and G.P. South. His experience enables him to come in running when it comes to recruiting a collegiate level student athlete. 

Welcome aboard Coach Ritchie, we are looking forward to a long and successful relationship.