Lady Red Hawks Get Win Over Ranked Lady Wolves
The Lake Michigan College Women’s Basketball defeated nationally ranked Joliet Junior College 80-68 at home on Tuesday night. Joliet came into the game ranked #7 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III national poll.
The Lady Red Hawks and Joliet went back and forth in the first four minutes of the game and Lake Michigan held a one-point lead (12-11) with 5:45 left in the first quarter. Then the Lady Red Hawks began getting key stops and rebounds. They executed extremely well on offense to outscore Joliet 14-5 for the rest of the first quarter and led 26-16 going into the second quarter. The second quarter was a back and forth between both teams, but Lake Michigan continued to lead even after Joliet pulled with four points (36-32) with 2:45 until halftime. The Lake Michigan did regroup in the final few minutes and went on 6-0 run to end the quarter taking a 40-32 advantage at halftime.
The Lady Red Hawks got the ball to start the third quarter and in their first possession they were able to hit a three-point shot to take a 43-32 lead. Again, Joliet would not go away and they continued to battle back, but the Lady Red Hawks continued to keep pace and eventually got some breathing room by outscoring the Lady Wolves 24-20 to take a 12-point lead (64-52) into the final 10 minutes.
In the fourth quarter, Lake Michigan did not allow Joliet to pull closer than nine points and the Lady Red Hawks were able to score enough and get stops throughout the quarter. Both teams scored 16 points in the final 10 minutes for the final 80-68 score. With the win, Lake Michigan improves to 8-2 on the season.
After the game, Head Coach, Patrick Daniel stated "So proud of how we played tonight for 40 minutes. We were not at full strength tonight with a few players unable to play because of injuries but this team played with such great energy and effort and we got a great win over a very good Joliet team. Very happy to be where we are going into our winter break".
Four players scored in double figures for the Lady Red Hawks led by Samantha Jenkins who had 24 points, including going 6-9 from the three-point line. Jayla Bibbs scored 23 points and had 12 rebounds and 4 steals. Aymia Flowers added 14 points and Monae Palmer chipped in 11 points.
Lake Michigan will not return to the basketball court until Saturday, December 29, 2018 when they travel on the road to take on South Suburban College. Game time is set for 2:00 PM.