COMMUNITY JOURNALISM: Mustangs shooting for MCC titles

By Chad Cooper, community contributor

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Mount Mercy men's and women's basketball teams are ready to vie for Midwest Collegiate Conference tournament titles.

The Mustang men (18-11, 9-9), who capped the regular season with a win at Viterbo on Saturday, are seeded sixth and play at No. 3 Ashford tonight at 7. Junior forward Chad Underwood, a former prep standout at Cedar Rapids Jefferson, is averaging nearly 16 points per game and leads a powerful frontcourt attack that includes junior forward Alex Coleman and senior forward Sam Kenyi.

The Mustangs will be looking to avenge two previous losses to Ashford, the last one by two points. If Mount Mercy wins tonight, it will face either second-seed William Penn or No. 7 Grand View on Friday. The championship game is Sunday.

St. Ambrose won the MCC regular season title and received the No. 1 seed.

The 13th-ranked Mount Mercy women finished the regular season at 23-7, 15-3 in MCC, and are the No. 2 seed, hosting Ashford in a quarterfinal on Thursday.

The Mustangs, who own two wins over Ashford this season, are led by seniors Emily Greiner and Micha Mims. Both members of the 1,000-point club, Greiner averages 18.9 points per game, Mims 13.7. Sophomore forward Amanda Frost averages 11.7 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds.

Grand View won the regular season MCC title and secured the No. 1 seed and will host AIB on Thursday. Semifinals are Saturday, the championship on Monday.

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