Last Conference Road Game Ends With A Win

Lake Michigan College Women's Basketball team did not score for the first 1:15 of the game on Saturday afternoon and found themselves down 7-0 to Lansing Community College. But the Lady Red Hawks went on their own 9-0 run and never looked back and they defeated the Lady Stars 75-50.

The slow start for Lake Michigan was due in part to missing early shots and Lansing taking advantage of their opportunities.  The Lady Red Hawks missed their first five attempts before finding the basket and picking up their defensive effort. After going up 9-7, Lake Michigan continued to play stellar defense and forced the Lady Stars into turnovers.  Lake Michigan outscored Lansing 14-7 in the remainder of the first quarter and led 23-14 after the first 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, Lake Michigan shot the ball well, while holding the Lady Stars to just three field goals. Lake Michigan outscored Lansing 17-8 in this quarter to take an 18-point lead in halftime (40-22). In the first half, Lake Michigan shot 50% (15-30) while Lansing shot just 34% (8-23).

In the third quarter, the Lady Red Hawks continued to play the type of defensive pressure that has made them successful so far this season.  By forcing the Lady Stars into tough offensive possessions and forcing turnovers. Lake Michigan took some advantage, even though they struggled to score at times, and outscored Lansing 14-9 in the third quarter to extend their lead to 23 points (54-31) entering the final quarter.  The fourth quarter saw Lake Michigan take their largest lead of the game, at 30 points, and they were able to maintain their lead the remainder of the game. The Lady Red Hawks outscored Lansing 21-19 in the last quarter and ended with the final 75-50 score.

With the win, Lake Michigan improves to 22-5 overall and 14-2 in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) Western Conference, which keeps them in a tie for first-place.  The Lady Red Hawks who have won six games straight and 11 out of 12 games are looking forward to their final two regular season games as they vie for their first conference championship since the 2013-14 season.

After the game, Head Coach, Patrick Daniel stated "While we started off slow today, there was no panic and we settled down and started playing our style of basketball. We have worked hard all season to be where we are and I am very happy that we have put ourselves in a good position to compete for a conference championship with two games to play."

For the game, Lake Michigan shot 40% (28-70) while Lansing converted on 33% of their shots (20-59). Lake Michigan out-rebounded the Lady Stars 43-39 and forced Lansing to commit 19 turnovers. The Lady Red Hawks took good care of the basketball and only committed nine turnovers for the game.  As a team, Lake Michigan also had 14 assists, nine steals, and six blocks.

Four players scored in double figures for Lake Michigan led by Samantha Jenkins with 22 points.  Jayla Bibbs had 21 points, while Taylor Cegelis added 12 points and Morgan Hughes chipped in 10 points. LaChelle Knox led the Lady Red Hawks in rebounds with 10 and Bibbs had five steals.  Jenkins, Bibbs, and Breanna Alexander all had three assists apiece and Cegelis blocked five shots.

Lake Michigan will return home on Monday, February 25, 2019 when they host Glen Oaks Community College at 5:30 PM.  For this game, the Lady Red Hawks will be supporting the "Hunger Games" and they are asking all fans in attendance to bring a non-perishable food item or toiletries.  All items collected will go to the Benton Harbor Street Ministries.