By Robert Fenbers
Sports Editor
Playing down to competition has been a common occurrence all season for the Challengers. It was almost their undoing yet again.
Perhaps an ominous sign that this game against Lorain County Community College was going to be a tough one – the team bus broke down on the way to the game. After about a 30 minute delay, the game was underway. Coming into this contest both teams had losing streaks including LCCC’s 12 game losing streak.
The Commodore’s Lorain County Community College held their own against Tri-C for the first half. It was a gutsy performance by guard Onyx Lopez and forward Gabby Woods, who seemed to carry their team.
On a night when both teams struggled to score, Tashanae Duncan had 9 Points, 4 Rebounds and 3 steals. “This game was very important because we are trying to go to the postseason,” said Duncan. She along with Keri Hill came up with timely baskets all game that seemed to take away the moment just as it seemed LCCC was going to take the lead.
Donnae Waters and Lauren Harris added a combined 24 rebounds, as the Lady Challengers outrebounded the Commodores 51-34.
The game came down to the wire and eventually the Challengers wore down the Commodores with defense and forced them into numerous turnovers, including 13 from Onyx Lopez and 30 overall for the Commodores.
Some might say the Challengers are better than their record. After the game Hill spoke of how the team let some games get away from them this season, “Some of the teams outhustled us, a lot of the games we were in them until the end and we let the slip away.”
This was a crucial win for the Challengers, improving their record to 7-12 as they continue to fight for a spot in the postseason.
All stats courtesy of OCCAC.ORG