DOWAGIAC — The Southwestern Michigan College women’s basketball team opened its 2023-24 season with a pair of wins at the inaugural Roadrunner Classic at the 1st Source Bank Fieldhouse this past weekend.

The Roadrunners rallied to defeat Edison State Community College 83-76 in the debut of SMC Coach Jay Jenkins. On Saturday night, the Roadrunners rolled to a 35-12 halftime lead, and went on to defeat North Central Michigan Community College 72-20.

SMC vs. Edison State

Turnovers were a big problem for Southwestern Michigan in its season opener.

The Roadrunners committed 28 miscues against Edison State, which allowed the Chargers to open up a 38-33 lead at halftime.

Southwestern cut down on the mistakes in the second half, outscoring Edison State 33-6 in the third quarter to take a 66-44 lead. The Chargers came storming back in the final 10 minutes, outscoring SMC 22-17, but was unable to make up the third-quarter deficit.

Cameron Thomas (Hazel Crest, Illinois) poured in a game-high 31 points, while Macey Labauch (Edwardsburg) scored 18 points and Kamryn Patterson (Niles) added 16. Amara Palmer (Niles) chipped in with nine points of the bench.

Patterson also had six assists, while Laubach had six rebounds and four assists. Nalani Williams (St. Louis, Missouri/Hazelwood West) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while Tori Eldridge (Goshen, Indiana) finished with six rebounds.

SMC vs. North Central

The Roadrunners did not allow the Timberwolves to score more than eight points in any of the four quarters on Saturday.

Southwestern Michigan jumped out to a 23-8 lead after the first 10 minutes, which it extended to 35-12 by halftime. The Roadrunners also got off to a quick start in the second half, outscoring North Central 25-5 to open up a 60-17 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Thomas led the Roadrunners with 14 points, while Laubach finished with 12 points and Eldridge scored 10 points off the bench.

Dowagiac freshman Alanah Smith got a start against the Timberwolves and finished with seven points, seven rebounds and three steals. Williams also finished with seven points to go along with five rebounds.

Laubach added six steals, four rebounds and four assists to her stat line. Palmer ended the game with seven rebounds. Eldridge had five rebounds and five steals.

Southwestern Michigan took much better care of the basketball as it cut its turnovers down to 15.

The Roadrunners return to action Tuesday night as they host the Bethel University JV. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.