McHenry, MD – It was less than two minutes into the third quarter, but JT Lewis had seen enough.

"It was just a lack of energy – I just didn't want to see that," said the Garrett College women's basketball head coach. "We have to be an energetic, passionate team. We were lacking that. I thought hopefully we could change that with a timeout."

And it all changed – just as Lewis had hoped.

GC went on a 14-0 scoring binge, keyed by energetic defense and its transition game. That run stretched Saturday's 34-30 halftime lead into a 48-30 cushion as the Lady Lakers downed visiting Baltimore City Community College, 71-48.

GC held the Panthers without a field goal in the third period, which Lewis credited partially to the Lady Lakers' switch into a 1-3-1 zone. Garrett finished with a whopping 23 steals, which led to a bevy of transition points.

"Hailey [Newsome], Manu [Manuela Perez de Castro], and Rhegan [Lamberson] all played well when we were trapping out of the 1-3-1. That led to a lot of fast-break points," said Lewis, whose Lady Lakers (8-7) snapped a four-game losing streak that included an overtime defeat and a one-point setback. "In the first half, we had some similar opportunities, but we just weren't making layups."

Perez de Castro – who had a game-high 18 points to go with six rebounds, six steals, and three assists – said it wasn't just an energy jolt that turned the game around.

"I think even more than the energy, it was just us wanting to play together," said the sophomore guard. "We were cheering more, energy was up, and we were making more shots."

BCCC (1-15) put the Lady Lakers into an early hole, using an 11-1 run to build a 13-7 cushion. Garrett, however, rallied to take a 20-19 lead as Renee Timbers (seven points, five assists, five rebounds, three steals) nailed a pull-up, 3-point jumper at the buzzer to end the opening quarter.

Even so, Garrett didn't take the lead for good until Perez de Castro made an inside layup with 6:03 remaining in the second quarter that gave the Lady Lakers a 26-24 advantage. GC took its biggest lead of the opening half when Janiya Burton (12 points, six rebounds) hit a backdoor layup off a nifty Timbers feed to build a 32-27 cushion.

Newsome and Daisya Brown each scored 10 points as four Lady Lakers reached double digits. Da'shai Morton-Hall added seven points.

Niana Rosser had 14 points – nine in the first half to keep the Panthers in the game – and London Galbraith added 10 for BCCC.

The victory was a welcome event for a GC squad that has suffered from close losses and a myriad of injuries.

"It's been rough for us," acknowledged Lewis. "We've been missing people and losing tight games."

Montgomery 76, GC 61

McHenry, MD – Kennedy Clifton scored 14 points as five Raptors reached double figures last Wednesday, helping Montgomery College pull away from the host Lady Lakers.

Litzy Lujan-Gonzales, Yaheera Williams, and Sanai Massenburg added 11 each for the Raptors, who had a 54-45 lead after three quarters.

GC fell to 7-7 with its fourth straight loss.