The long and rocky road that has been Riverland's basketball season came to an end Saturday afternoon. The Blue Devil squads both lost their finales at Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

Both Minneapolis squads are ranked second in the National Junior College Division III polls, but Riverland kept it relatively close in both contests. The women were defeated 70-55, while the Devil men lost 94-73.

The Riverland women finished the season 3-20 overall and 1-11 in the MCCC's South Division. The men went 6-18 and 1-11

The Marauder women beat Riverland 78-70 in Austin in their first meeting, and the season-ending affair seemed on schedule for a similar finish. Minneapolis led 37-31 at halftime and never managed to make a game-breaking run on the scoreboard.

A decisive 47-27 edge in rebounding made Minneapolis the clear-cut favorite, even though the Lady Devils did their job to keep MCTC off the offensive glass.

"That was our goal because they killed us on putbacks when they played us here," said Riverland coach Suzy Hebrink. "We played decent all night long. Potentially if we don't shot up and play for 40 minutes we could have been blown out, and at no time was this game a blowout.

"We played with them the entire game, and we played some great defense at times."

Where Riverland struggled was on offense -- the tale of this team's season. Steph Vollbrecht shot 7-for-11 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from three-point range in the first half, but the rest of the Devils shot 13-for-54 for the game.

"Other that (Steph) we just shot horrendously," Hebrink said. "That just shows the lack of productivity with everyone else, but they all 'D'-ed up. They went out playing real respectable basketball."

Vollbrecht led the Devils with 19 points, and Bridget Burzinski chipped in 11.

Jessica Crockett, who ripped Riverland for 32 points in their first meeting, again led the Marauders (20-3, 9-3) with 25 points. Brandy Moore added 15 and Shannon Finis netted 14 to top MCTC's scoring.

The Riverland women finished the year with a 3-20 overall record and 1-11 MCCC South Division mark.

Marooned by Marauders

Only North Division winner Fergus Falls, rated ninth in the nation, has defeated Minneapolis' men's squad this season, and that remained the same after Riverland's 94-73 loss on Saturday. The Marauders enter the MCCC State Tournament at 23-1 overall with an unblemished 12-0 South Division record.

Minneapolis' size stopped Riverland (6-18, 1-11) from keeping pace. MCTC led 50-41 at the half after pulling out to a 13-2 lead to start the game. The Blue Devils, powered by the three-pointer, battled back to tie the score at 18-all.

"We played really hard, we played our guts out, but we just ran out of gas," said Riverland men's coach David Lillemon. "We definitely gave it a good run in the first half."

The Blue Devils hit 11 three-pointers in the game, getting five from sophomore Andy Stouvenel in his final game. The North St. Paul native finished with game-highs of 21 points and eight rebounds.

The already shorthanded Riverland squad sustained another loss to injury, capping a rather unhealthy season for the Devils. Freshman John Tillo played 19 minutes before suffering a minor concussion in the second half.

Curt Peterson's hip injury held the sophomore from Kenyon-Wanamingo to just 16 minutes on the court. The best defender on the Blue Devils likely would have played the whole game had his body allowed it.

Minneapolis scored 38 points off turnovers and led the rebounding 48-37. Starters Kevin Tendall and Andy Hannan led the Marauders with 20 and 19 points respectively.

Riverland's sophomore point guard Kelly Connaughty, from Lanesboro, finished up his career with 18 points. Mark Skellenger netted two points in his final game.