EMCC’s Lucy Lunceford finishes strong to place 38th at NJCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championship

BOONE, Iowa – With her 20-place improvement from midweek to Friday's final round, East Mississippi Community College's Lucy Lunceford finished 38^th in this week's inaugural NJCAA Division II Women's Golf Championship held in Boone, Iowa. The four-day tournament, hosted by Des Moines Area Community College, was played at Cedar Pointe Golf Club.

A freshman from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Lunceford closed out the week with Friday's 11-over-par 83 after carding an improved score of 84 during Thursday's third round. She ranked as the biggest mover on Friday's leaderboard by jumping 12 spots from her 50^th-place tie the previous day.

The Northside High School product entered the second half of this week's national championship tied for 58^th place following inconsistent rounds of 91 and 93 to open the tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

After making a nine-shot improvement from Wednesday's round with eight pars the following day, Lunceford continued her steady play with six pars and a birdie during Friday's round to finish among the top half of the tournament's 84-player field.

Lunceford's four-round total of 351 (91-93-84-83) consisted of 21 total pars, Friday's birdie on the 18^th hole to close out the front nine, 38 bogeys, 10 double bogeys and a pair of triple bogeys for the week.

Top-ranked Shelton State Community College (311-304-332-328—1275) coasted to a dominant 34-shot team victory over runner-up and second-ranked Mesa [AZ] CC (317-317-339-336—1309). Iowa Central CC (327-330-346-342—1345) and Murray State [OK] CC (333-335-335-349—1352) followed in third and fourth place, respectively.

In individual play, Iowa Central's Ivanna Becerra-Diaz (74-73-84-78—309) claimed low medalist honors over runner-up Kamryn Johnston of Mott [MI] CC (74-78-79-78—309) by winning the first playoff hole.