McHenry, MD – The host Lady Lakers used two double-digit scoring bursts – one in each half – to grind out a 68-47 women's basketball win Saturday over a game but out-gunned Hagerstown Community College squad.
Garrett College took the lead for good with a 12-0, first-quarter spree and used a 10-0, fourth-quarter surge to finally pull away. Those two runs were the difference as the Lady Lakers struggled to put away a Hawk squad that had lost eight of its previous nine games.
"We came out flat," said GC head coach JT Lewis, whose squad was coming off an emotional, 61-60 loss in a first-place showdown at Montgomery College. "You could see in warm-ups we had no energy."
Hagerstown (4-14 overall, 1-8 conference) was within 50-43 after Jariah Russell's short jumper with 6:53 remaining. The Lady Lakers (18-2, 8-1) responded by turning to their transition game, reeling off 10 straight in the process.
Aleeya Silver hit a layup and Hailey Paige drove the lane for a three-point play, stretching the lead to 55-43. Josie Canales and Aliyah Tucker also had inside baskets during the run as the Lakers built a 60-43 cushion.
"We were pretty good in the first half, but they kind of beat us in transition in the second half," said Hagerstown head coach Chris Grant.
Josias Mickens (four assists, four steals) led the Lady Lakers with 14 points and Silver (five rebounds, two assists) added 12, including eight in the fourth quarter as Garrett pulled away.
"Aleeya is a great offensive player," said Lewis. "She gave us an offensive spark when she was in there."
"My main focus was honestly to just score an d produce for my team as much as I could, offensively and defensively," said Silver.
Canales (five rebounds, four assists) scored 10 points, Tucker (team-high seven rebounds) added nine, and Deylana Forrest scored seven. Vanessa Cooper (three steals) and Harmoni Swain tallied six points each, while Paige and MyKah Johnson scored three points apiece.
Saidat Abbas led Hagerstown with 13 points and Susie Rodriguez added 11 points. Lexi Henderson and Chloe Bittner scored eight points each.
The Lady Lakers appeared ready to break the game open early, using a 12-0 run to build a 12-4 cushion. GC's biggest first-half lead came at 26-14 on Forrest's 3-pointer before the Lady Lakers settled for a 29-19 advantage at the break.
Hagerstown played GC even in the second half until the Lady Lakers' fourth-quarter scoring spree. The Hawks contributed to their own demise by going 12-for-19 at the free throw line, including just 5-of-10 in the second half.
"Free throws and turnovers really hurt us tonight," acknowledged Grant. "Losing Lexi (Henderson, Hawks point guard injured in the second half) hurt us, too."
Lewis said the Lady Lakers' effectiveness was impacted by his continued lineup experimentations, done with the postseason in mind.
"We're still trying to develop players, still trying to run man defenses," said Lewis. "We had other defenses that would have worked better against Hagerstown, but in order to be successful at the end of year, you have to be able to play man."
Montgomery 61, GC 60
Rockville, MD – Bethany Fowler's jumper with 13 seconds remaining Wednesday night lifted the host Raptors past Garrett College in a battle of unbeaten Maryland JuCo contenders.
Josie Canales missed a potential go-ahead jumper with five seconds remaining that was rebounded by Montgomery's Tiyanna James as the Raptors (16-5, 8-0) held on for the win.
Fowler's game-winner capped an 8-1 scoring streak for the Raptors, who overcame a 59-53 deficit in the final 1:52. The Lakers (17-2, 7-1) had a 60-56 lead with just 31 seconds remaining after Aliyah Tucker split a pair of free throws, but James' 3-pointer with 27 seconds left cut the gap to 60-59.
James finished with a game-high 23 points to pace Montgomery. Josias Mickens (17 points, seven rebounds, six steals), Canales (11 points six rebounds, four steals), and Tucker (11 points, 10 rebounds) were GC's double-digit scorers.
Garrett used a 14-6 third-quarter spurt to erase a 34-33 halftime deficit and take a 47-40 lead into the final period.
