McHenry MD – Garrett College ousted one of its biggest rivals from the region playoffs, avenged its only home-court loss of the season, and reached 20 wins for the second consecutive year.
Not bad for one night's work.
Josie Canales posted a triple-double (26 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) in Tuesday night's 94-68 win over Potomac State College of West Virginia University. That win earned third-seeded GC (20-3) a berth in the NJCAA Region 20 Division II women's basketball tournament semifinals for the third consecutive year.
"Everybody came to play," said Canales, who had 15 first-quarter points as the Lady Lakers took early control. "We really moved the ball around and we were very disciplined. It was a good night."
"Josie has been in a little bit of a slump. It's great to see her come out of it," said GC head coach JT Lewis. "For us to get anywhere in the tournament, we need her to have those kind of performances."
The Lakers will play second-seeded Montgomery College (20-6) in Friday's 3 p.m. region semifinal at Frederick Community College. Montgomery, an 87-40 quarterfinal winner over seventh-seeded College of Southern Maryland, rallied late to beat GC, 61-60, in their regular-season meeting.
Top-seeded defending champion CCBC-Essex blitzed eighth-seeded CCBC-Catonsville, 119-55, and fourth-seeded Howard Community College downed fifth-seeded Chesapeake College, 57-41, in Tuesday's other quarterfinals. Essex (30-1) will play Howard (18-7) in Friday's 1 p.m. semifinal.
Both region finals will be played Saturday afternoon at FCC, with the women's title game at noon and the men's final at 3 p.m.
The Lakers avenged a 70-68 overtime loss to PSC in November that's the only blemish on a 10-1 home mark. GC also won the season series against the Lady Catamounts, having rolled to a 77-58 victory at PSC last month.
Lewis said Tuesday's win was aided by the Lady Lakers' hard work in the 10 days since the regular season ended.
"The girls have been in the gym a lot more over the last week-and-a-half," said Lewis. "They've been taking more shots on their own outside of practice. They understand that it's win-or-go-home now for us."
Aleeya Silver (13 points, seven rebounds) and Harmoni Swain (10 points on 5-of-7 shooting) joined Canales in double figures.
"Harmoni provided a great spark," Lewis said of Swain, who hit five straight shots in one stretch. "She is Miss Consistency – she's got that quick release and she's very dangerous when she's in a good rhythm."
While Canales helped the Lady Lakers build an early lead, Silver played a key role late. She scored 11 of GC's last 13 points as the hosts blew the game open in the fourth quarter.
"She can come in and score in spurts," Lewis said of Silver, a 5-foot-9 freshman forward.
"I just try to produce as much as I can," said Silver.
PSC (12-13) was within 7-6 after Kelsey O'Neal's 3-pointer, but GC responded with a 17-2 scoring spree to take the lead for good. Swain started the run with consecutive jumpers while Canales and Josias Mickens (seven points, seven rebounds, game-high 11 assists) each buried 3-pointers as GC reeled off 12 straight points to start the run.
The Lady Catamounts whittled a 16-point deficit down to 26-17 on a Talynn McDonald free throw to start the second quarter. GC, however, then went on an 11-2 run with five different Lady Lakers scoring to build a 37-19 cushion.
Garrett, which had a 49-34 halftime lead, maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the second half.
Aliyah Tucker and Vanessa Cooper each scored nine points while Deylana Forrest and Gabriella Valentinetti chipped in eight points each for GC. Mickens, meanwhile, effectively ran the Lady Lakers offense.
"Her job is to create for other players," Lewis said of Mickens, who incorporated some no-look feeds and sharp bounce passes into Tuesday's performance.
Chelcie Forrester scored a team-high 23 points for PSC. Kelsey O'Neal added 14 points and Kelly Ours contributed 12 points for the Lady Catamounts, who made 10 3-pointers.
If the Lakers gets past Montgomery College on Friday, a rematch with national power CCBC-Essex on Saturday looms. Essex defeated GC in last year's region final, and also downed the Lady Lakers in this year's regular-season finale that decided the state title.
"We've got a chance to play the three teams that have beaten us this season all in a row," observed Lewis.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Region 20 Quarterfinal
Chesapeake 84, GC 62
Wye Mills, MD – Justin DeMaria scored a game-high 18 points off the bench Tuesday night as second-seeded Chesapeake College advanced to the region semifinals.
Former Laker Lamont Powell added 17 points, DJ Earl scored 16, and Izaiah Credle contributed 15 points for the balanced Skipjacks (27-4), who built a 43-28 halftime lead.
GC's Nyrek Wheeler (nine rebounds) matched DeMaria's game high with 18 points and led all players with six assists. AJ Crosby (nine rebounds) tallied 14 points, and reserve Nathaniel Washington added 13 for the Lakers (19-12).
Chesapeake blew out to a 43-28 halftime advantage and led by double digits throughout the second half.
