• Freshman Jaden Ainley leads DMACC with 20 points
• Freshman Reanna Hutchinson and sophomore Reagan Franzen reach double figures with 15 and 11 points respectively
• Bears are outscored 41-27 in the second half

Freshman Jaden Ainley of Clear Lake scored 20 points as the DMACC women's basketball team closed out the 2022-23 regular season with an 82-71 loss to North Central Missouri College (NCMC) February 28 at Trenton, Mo.

Freshman Reanna Hutchinson of Eau Claire, Wis., and sophomore Reagan Franzen of Polk City added 15 and 11 points respectively as the Bears, under first-year head coach Jocelyn Kovarik, finished with an 18-11 record, including a 9-7 mark in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC).

DMACC kept the game close through the first three quarter, trailing 19-18 at the end of the first quarter and leading 44-41 at halftime after outscoring the Pirates 26-22 in the second period. The Bears led by as many as five points, 46-41, early in the third quarter before trailing 54-52 at the end of the period. A three-point basket by sophomore Jadeyn Smith of Arcadia got DMACC within two at 61-59 with six minutes remaining, but NCMC put together a 9-0 to open up a 70-59 lead with just more than three minutes remaining. The Bears never got closer than six points the rest of the way.

DMACC shot 39 percent in the loss, making 26 of 66 field goal attempts. The Bears were just 5-of-24 from three-point range and made 14 of 16 free throw attempts.

NCMC had a 37-35 advantage in rebounding with freshman Kennedy Jones and Ainley leading DMACC with eight and seven rebounds respectively. Franzen and Smith contributed five rebounds apiece. Ainley topped the Bears in assists with three and Hutchinson led the way in steals with two.

The DMACC women's basketball team will play in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XI Division II Women's Basketball Championship March 5 to 12. Pairings and playing sites will be announced later this week.