MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Milwaukee Area Technical College continued its strong play at home Tuesday night, using a dominant defensive stretch and a balanced offensive effort to roll past South Suburban 76–52. The double‑digit victory helped the Stormers improve to 10–10 overall and extended their home winning streak to five games despite being without sophomore guard Rachel Schlies, their second‑leading scorer and team leader in steals, who was out with an illness.

Even without Schlies, MATC opened strong, taking a 19–15 lead after one behind six early points from Sa'Nyai Mitchell, who opened 2-for-3 from deep. However, the game slowed to a crawl in the second quarter as both teams combined to shoot 7‑for‑44. MATC finally broke through when Emani Summers scored on an offensive‑rebound putback with just over seven minutes left in the half. The Stormers locked in defensively, holding South Suburban to 2‑for‑21 shooting and generating four putbacks to build an 8–1 second‑chance edge in the quarter and a 13–1 margin by halftime. Summers and Moriah Landry combined for nine points and five offensive rebounds as MATC stretched the lead to 31–21.

"We put a little bit of ball pressure on them to make them work a little bit harder and it created some turnovers in the second quarter," MATC head coach Arom Murrell said. "We didn't score a lot of points because we didn't capitalize on those turnovers. We had a bad shooting percentage in that quarter despite the fact we may have dominated from a defensive perspective."

MATC broke the game open in the third quarter, starting on a 15–6 run highlighted by back‑to‑back threes from Mitchell and five quick points from Lacee Rodriguez to stretch the margin to 46–27. Laila Hamiel then scored six straight points late in the period before Landry secured one of her five offensive‑rebound putbacks to extend the lead to 54–35 heading into the fourth. MATC shot 45 percent in the quarter while holding South Suburban to just 19 percent, turning the game into a runaway.

"We had a number of fast‑break opportunities off our rebounds in the third quarter," Murrell said. "I don't know if South Suburban was tired or if they were just lax in their transition defense, but we emphasized at halftime to quote‑unquote 'not play with our food' and get out and run and take advantage. And we did that in the third quarter."

MATC closed the night with another strong stretch, powered by Landry's dominant fourth quarter. The sophomore went 5‑for‑8 in the period for 11 points and grabbed five offensive rebounds as the Stormers cruised to the finish.

"The referees weren't calling anything and so my mentality was to be aggressive," Landry said of her fourth‑quarter surge. "I had zero personal fouls entering the fourth and so I felt like I could go at it and might as well get all the way to the basket as close as I can. My mentality was simply to get to the rack."

MATC shot 36.5 percent for the game but overwhelmed South Suburban with its physicality, holding a 27–7 edge in second‑chance points, a 44–24 advantage in paint scoring and an 18–14 margin in points off turnovers. The Stormers controlled the glass throughout, outrebounding the Bulldogs 63–49, including a 27–19 advantage on the offensive boards.

"What impressed me most about tonight's win was that despite being shorthanded we went out and played hard," Murrell said. "We got something from everybody."

Landry recorded her sixth double‑double of the season, leading the Stormers with 20 points and 15 rebounds — 11 of them on the offensive glass — along with three steals. Mitchell added 14 points, five rebounds and two steals, while Laila Hamiel finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and five steals to round out MATC's double‑figure scorers. Rodriguez chipped in nine points, her second‑highest total of the season behind her career‑best 12 on Dec. 16 at Moraine Valley. Emani Summers came within two points of a double‑double, posting eight points, 15 rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks in a standout all-around performance.

"They always do great," Landry added of Mitchell and Summers. "Before every game we always have a little pep talk and I told them to 'go get it.' That's what they do pretty much every game. I have complete confidence and trust in them when they're on the court."

UP NEXT
MATC (10–10) will look to get above .500 for the first time this season when it hosts No. 22 Rock Valley at 6 p.m. Thursday.