McHenry, MD – Rematches often come down to which side makes the better adjustments. That was the case Tuesday night as third-seeded Garrett College topped sixth-seeded Chesapeake College, 68-52, in an NJCAA Division II Region 20 women's basketball quarterfinal.
Nine days earlier, the Skipjacks hit 11-of-21 3-pointers and outscored Garrett, 33-6, from beyond the arc in a 73-58 loss that was much closer than the final score. In the rematch, the Lady Lakers led wire-to-wire while holding Chesapeake to just five successful 3-pointers.
"I think that was the key," said GC's Gabriella Valentinetti, who posted her seventh straight double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds). "If we allowed them to get as many open shots as we did last game, it might have been a different story."
"We did a better job getting out on their three-point shooters," said GC head coach JT Lewis, whose squad won despite shooting 33 percent from the field. "Our man defense looked good – we just didn't allow as many open looks as we did the first time we played them."
Garrett (18-5) will played second-seeded CCBC-Catonsville (21-4) Friday in a 2 p.m. semifinal at Cecil College. Top-seeded reigning national champion CCBC-Essex (23-6) plays fifth-seeded Howard Community College (16-7) in Friday's noon semifinal.
The title game will take place on Saturday at noon at Cecil.
Lewis made another defensive adjustment to take advantage of the fact that Chesapeake point guard Ayanni Brown – who had 11 assists in the first meeting – missed the game with an injury.
"We did a good job of pressing at the beginning – that's probably the first time we pressed all season," said Lewis. "When we saw their starting point guard wasn't playing, we decided to pressure the ball more and really work at denying the ball."
Renee Timbers had six points – four of them off a pair of steals – as the Lady Lakers rolled to an early, 11-0 lead. Chesapeake didn't get its first field goal until just 70 seconds remained in the opening quarter, which ended with GC holding a 15-5 advantage.
Chesapeake (13-13) pulled within 17-9 as Tye Queen (team-high 12 points) hit consecutive layups, but the Lady Lakers finished the half on a 16-6 run that included seven points from Aleeya Silver (18 points, 10 rebounds, three assists).
The Skipjacks made one final push, closing the third quarter on an 8-2 run that Deleon Foster finished with consecutive hoops to pull Chesapeake within 43-34. GC, however, used a Silver layup off a nice Bayleigh Lamberson feed and a Timbers 3-pointer to squelch the Chesapeake comeback and reach the region semis for the fourth straight year.
"It feels fantastic," said Silver, whose squad has now won 12 straight games. "We've been playing better together and we all have a determination to win."
Valentinetti said the winning streak and semifinal berth are "like a dream come true" for a team that at times has had only five healthy, available players.
"Last year we had 15 players and this year we almost lost our season," noted Valentinetti, who is the team's second-leading scorer (15.7 points per game) and top rebounder (7.9) as a sophomore guard.
"For us to be successful, she has to rebound," said Lewis of Valentinetti. "She's been a ball hawk, just keeping balls alive."
Timbers (13 points, four steals, three assists) and Hasana Akinloye (15 points, five rebounds) also reached double figures. Lamberson had six points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench, and Manuela Perez de Castro (two points) had eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
The Lady Lakers will be attempting to reach their third region title game in four years this weekend. Garrett lost to Potomac State College of West Virginia University in the 2021 championship contest and to CCBC-Essex in the 2022 title game.
Garrett and Catonsville didn't play in the regular season, but the teams scrimmaged in the preseason. Catonsville, which has won 10 straight, is led by sophomore guard Tenea Robinson (20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists) and sophomore forward/center Dasia Townes (14.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists).
"The key with them will be keeping them out of the lane," said Lewis. "They're an athletic team that gets out and runs and gets to foul line. I worry about us getting into foul trouble and stopping their penetration."
While both GC and Catonsville bring double-digit wins streaks into the semis, Essex isn't far behind with nine consecutive victories. Howard is only 4-4 in its last eight games, but the Dragons avenged one of those losses by upsetting Montgomery in the quarters.
Howard erased an 11-point deficit while defeating fourth-seeded Montgomery College, 71-56. Catonsville used a 27-point fourth quarter to break open a close game and eliminate Frederick, 63-44.
Essex, gunning for its third straight region title, had a first-round bye.
