McHenry, MD – Gabriella Valentinetti scored a game-high 23 points and hauled in 10 rebounds Sunday afternoon as Garrett College stretched its women's basketball winning streak to 10 with a 73-58 victory over visiting Chesapeake College.
"A lot of people underestimated what we could do with seven players," Valentinetti said of the winning streak. "We plan to keep it rolling and see [reigning national champion] Essex in the [region] finals."
"Gabby's rebounding was big for us," said GC head coach JT Lewis, who uses the aggressive guard on the boards due to the Lady Lakers' lack of size.
Renee Timbers also had a big game for the Lady Lakers (16-5 overall, 8-1 region) with 11 points, a game-high six assists, and three steals while running a very effective GC fast break.
"I like to push the ball up and get it to my teammates," Timbers said of Garrett's up-tempo offense.
"Renee always does a great job of pushing the tempo," said Lewis. "Whenever things are getting tight, she picks up the aggressiveness. She plays with a lot of heart, and our team feeds off of that."
Valentinetti and Aleeya Silver (14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists) each scored four points in a 12-0, first-quarter run that erased a 12-8 deficit and put GC ahead to stay. While the Lady Lakers never trailed after that spurt, Chesapeake did pull within 46-44 as Da'Myna Johnson (11 points) knocked down a 3-pointer later in the third quarter.
GC reassumed control with a 12-2 run that included consecutive baskets from Bayleigh Lambertson (six points, seven rebounds, two assists).
"It was good to have Bailey back today just to have that inside presence," Lewis said of Lambertson, who missed Saturday's 92-72 win over Anne Arundel Community College with a bruised hip. "She just does a really good job receiving the ball and taking her time to find open players."
Chesapeake (13-10, 5-4) stayed close by draining 10 treys, but the Skipjacks only hit a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as Garrett extended out its man-to-man defense.
"They shot it well early, which pulled us out of the 2-3 [defense]," explained Lewis.
Manuela Perez de Castro was the fourth Lady Laker in double figures, finishing with 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Hasana Akinloye chipped in eight points and a game-high four steals.
Aniya Jones led Chesapeake with 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
GC finishes its regular season Tuesday night with a 5 p.m. home game against the College of Southern Maryland. The Lady Lakers will earn the second seed in NJCAA Division II Region 20 behind CCBC-Essex if they beat CSM.
Win or lose, Garrett will host a regional quarterfinal next Tuesday.
