Big Win Leads To Career Day For Head Coach

Lake Michigan College Women's Basketball started off slow against Kalamazoo Valley Community College on Saturday afternoon, but the Lady Red Hawks scored the first point of the game and never looked back in their 70-46 win. Both teams really struggled to score in the first quarter, but Lake Michigan's defensive effort held the Lady Cougars to just four points and the Lady Red Hawks led 14-4 after the first 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, both teams started to find the basket, but Lake Michigan continued their defensive effort forcing the Lady Cougars to turn the ball over and miss on their offensive end. The Lady Red Hawks also began to push the tempo and score easy baskets in the paint to continue to extend their lead. After outscoring Kalamazoo Valley 22-15 in the second quarter, Lake Michigan went into halftime with a 17-point lead (36-19).

In the third quarter, the Lady Red Hawks repeated what they did in the second quarter by forcing Kalamazoo Valley to take tough shots and turn the ball over. Lake Michigan also picked up the pace by scoring in the paint and making open shots on the offensive end. The Lady Red Hawks held the Lady Cougars to just seven points in the quarter, while again scoring 22 in 10 minutes and led by 32 points (58-26) entering the final quarter.

The fourth quarter saw both teams being on the foul line and the pace of the game slowed down. Lake Michigan struggled to score and Kalamazoo Valley had their best quarter of the game even going on a 13-4 run. But the lead was too big and even though Lake Michigan was outscored 20-12 in the quarter, the Lady Red Hawks secured the 70-46 win. The Lady Red Hawks improved to 18-5 overall and 10-2 in the MCCAA Western Conference, which places them in a tie for first place.  This win was also the 100^th career win for Head Coach, Patrick Daniel.

After the game, Coach Daniel stated "I am very blessed and humbled to win my 100^th game.  This team came out from the start with the mindset we wanted to play really well against a good Kalamazoo Valley team on their home court.  I am more proud of the fact that this win keeps us a top of the conference, especially with some very tough games coming up."

For the game, Lake Michigan only shot 28% (22-78), but held Kalamazoo Valley to 23% (15-63).  Lake Michigan did out rebound the Lady Red Hawks 63-54, including 28 offensive rebounds. As a team, Lake Michigan also had 15 assists, 13 steals, eight blocks and forced Kalamazoo Valley to commit 21 turnovers. The Lady Red Hawks only had 12 turnovers for the game.

Three players scored in double figures for the Lady Red Hawks led by Monae Palmer and Samantha Jenkins, who had 19 points apiece. Morgan Hughes added 11 points including shooting 3-6 (50%) from the three-point line. Jayla Bibbs led the Lady Red Hawks with 12 rebounds and seven steals. Elasia Craig had three blocks.

Lake Michigan will return home on Wednesday, February 13, 2019 when they host Mid Michigan Community College. Mid Michigan enters the game at 9-2 in the MCCAA Western Conference and defeated the Lady Red Hawks earlier in the season 67-56. Tip off will be at 5:30 PM.