Box Score Rochester, MN – Not easy for Mike Wheeler to say goodbye to his sophomores. Especially when they're as good as the likes of Lauren Roy, Allie Taylor and Kayla Kibling.

Sounds like the Lazers' eight sophomores are going to miss being part of things as well.
 
"There were some tears pregame," said Wheeler, referring to the moments before Onondaga took on Sullivan County (N.Y.) on Saturday in the NJCAA Division III women's basketball tournament fifth-place game at UCR Regional Sports Center.
 
"I wasn't sure how they'd come out and play in the game. But they got rid of the emotions pretty quickly."

The Lazers also got rid of their opponent in a hurry. That was en route to a 77-65 win against a team it managed to beat by just four in November.

But led by Roy (22 points), Taylor (18) and Kibling (15), the Lazers made this one look easy. That trio helped No. 2-seed Onondaga build a 12-point halftime lead, with no challenge after that.

It made for a smiley end for Onondaga, which finished 31-5 overall. Well, mostly smiley. There was also a matter of the sophomores playing in their last game together. And also the inkling that maybe they should have been playing in the championship, instead of the fifth-place game. But a one-point loss to finalist Northland (Minn.) in the first round ended that dream.

"We wanted to come here and win a national championship," Roy said. "But we also wanted to win this game today, and go out with a bang. It's hard to be done now; there are a lot of emotions. Coach has been great. He's made us better on and off the court. And these girls on the team, we're like family. We've done a lot of bonding. It's tough knowing we are done playing together."

Onondaga separated itself from Sullivan with its perimeter shooting, which showed up early.

The Lazers didn't light it up from the field overall (30 percent in the first half, 31 for the game), but they did plenty of damage from beyond the arc. They hit five 3-pointers on 13 attempts before intermission.

Sharp-shooting Roy was her usual trusty self from deep, as Onondaga set a strong tone. The 5-foot-7 forward hit 4 of 9 3-pointers before intermission, helping her team to a 41-29 lead. Roy finished with 22 points, giving her 47 in her final two games as a Lazer.

While Onondago was 10-for-27 on 3-pointers for the game, No. 5 seed Sullivan was just 3-for-13. The Generals also had a tough time hanging onto the ball, with 22 turnovers. Their top player was center Regina Steele with a game-high 25 points.

Wheeler appreciated what he got from his team all season. And what he viewed in the final game buoyed him one last time.

"We played a full basketball game today," Wheeler said. "It's tough because we felt we were one point (Thursday) from playing in the championship game. We felt we really had a team that could get there this season. But I liked how our team played. And now, it's tough to see our sophomores go."