Danna Grenald Lifts Thunderbirds to Region V Title

The New Mexico Junior College women's basketball team won their first Region V title since 2016 in the 56-37 win over South Plains College Saturday night.

The T-Birds ended the seven-year drought at the Region V tournament behind the superb play of Danna Grenald. The sophomore forward finished with her fifth double-double of the season posting an eye-popping 25 points and 10 rebounds.

"I think Danna showed tonight that she is the best post player in the country," NMJC women's basketball head coach Austin Mefford said. "If there is one better, I'd like to see them."

There wasn't much offense in the first quarter for either team. NMJC managed to score just eight points in the opening frame and trailed by two points at the start of the second quarter. 

Sophomore Madina Camara began the second quarter with a layup and an assist to give the Thunderbirds a lead for the first time since early in the first quarter.

Sandra Magolico scored all six of her points in a row between the 8:55 and 7:05 mark in the second quarter. Her third bucket of the day gave the T-Birds a 16-12 lead. The sophomore forward finished with five rebounds in the contest.

Following the Magolico spurt, sophomore guard Duda Raimundo promptly hit a three-pointer off the window to extend the lead to seven points, 19-12, with 4:30 to go in the half. The three-point make was one of only two made three-point attempts for NMJC all evening. The Thunderbirds entered the half in control of the Texans 25-17.

The final three-point basket of the game for the T-Birds came with 7:06 left in the third quarter when Delma Zita knocked down the shot to give NMJC the 30-19 lead. Filipa Calisto hit a deep two-pointer in the subsequent possession for the Thunderbirds, which forced a South Plains timeout with the lead up to 13 points, 32-19.

Later in the third with 1:48 to go, T-Bird forward Danna Grenald received the ball in the post and proceeded to spin baseline, make the layup, and complete the three-point play after the foul to give the Thunderbird a 41-25 lead at the end of the third.

The Thunderbirds led 45-31 with 5:30 to go in the game. Grenald made three straight buckets and hit a pair of free throws in the process to score eight straight points and give NMJC an insurmountable lead, 53-34, with 1:29 left in the game. 

Grenald finished an inbound lob from Bianca Juzzo on her last shot of the night, which sent the bench into a frenzy. The T-Birds went on to win by a final score of 56-37.

Sophomore forward Bianca Juzzo recorded nine points and six rebounds. Wichita State signee Delma Zita finished with five assists, five points, and three steals. Guard Madina Camara dished out six assists and snatched four steals.

The T-Birds shot 23-of-54 (42.6%) from the field, 2-for-6 (33.3%) from the three-point line, 8-of-9 (88.9%) from the charity stripe.

The starters for the Thunderbirds, all sophomores, scored 49 of the team's 56 points.

"The nerves aren't there like they are for other people in the tournament. We were here last year and played two games," Mefford said. "To be able to have that sophomore leadership on the court and off the court is invaluable. They know what it takes to get things done, they were on a mission. The sophomores were determined that their seasons, their careers at NMJC were not going to end this week."

Coach Mefford emphasized in his post-game presser that the defense is what oils the Thunderbird machine. The T-Birds held the Texans to just 26.4% from the field in the 19-point win.

"We were excited heading into today. South Plains came in a little tired after the double-overtime win, so we saw that and were able to take advantage of it early," Mefford said. "One thing that we like to say is we are the best defensive team in the country. We showed that this week, we showed that today. We had a lot of extra motivation."

Coach Mefford said that this tournament performance will send a message to those who watch women's hoops.

"It is always good playing another WJCAC team (South Plains) in the Region V Championship game. We felt a little disrespected as a conference on where they have been placed nationally in the polls," Mefford said. "I thought this was a great opportunity with two of our teams in the championship game to show that we belong, and they belong and that the WJCAC is as good as any conference in the country."

The star of the tournament was forward Danna Grenald who was two points shy of her career-high of 27 points on Saturday. The sophomore scored 25 points in the championship and averaged 21 points and nine rebounds per game in the tournament. 

"Danna showed that she can take over a game single-handedly in the post," Mefford said. "I don't think we give out an MVP award, but she was the MVP of this tournament in my eyes."

The Southwest District Champions moved to 25-5 overall and will find out its seeding in the national tournament March 12 at 6:00 p.m. MDT.

Click here for the NJCAA Women's Basketball Selection Show link.

"We are playing well. We are guarding as well as anyone else in the country. Anytime you hold the conference champs from both conferences well below their season average you're in a good spot to win," Mefford said. "We have experience and confidence. When you go to the national tournament, it is all about matchups and who you draw and will find that out tomorrow, but I like our chances there because of our leadership and defense."