Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The fact that the No. 4 Midland College women’s basketball team can shoot as poorly as it did on Wednesday against Weatherford College and still score 71 points shows the kind of potential it has for this season.
However, head coach Ron Jones would prefer not to see that kind of shooting night for the rest of the year.
The Lady Chaparrals shot 29 percent from the floor, but thanks to a couple of fast starts to each half, MC pulled away for a 71-49 victory over the Lady Coyotes at Chaparral Center.
“It didn’t seem like either team was mentally sharp,” Jones said. “I know they can play better than that and I know we can play better than that. It’s a win and we’ll try to improve from it.”
What helped the Lady Chaps (11-1) on this night was that Weatherford (4-5) was held to 26 percent shooting. MC also jumped out to an 11-0 lead to begin the game. And after taking a 10-point advantage at the break, MC extended the lead to 52-31 with a 16-5 run 7 minutes into the second half.
“I thought the way we started out with a lot of energy helped us out because it gets us going,” MC freshman guard Tanica Anderson said. “I think we have a lot potential, but we need to stay focused, keep pushing and try our best to make shots.”
The Lady Chaps were led by Lauren Mansfield and Anderson, who each scored 15 points.
“I thought Tanica and Lauren, as always, played with a lot of energy,” Jones said. “At times, I thought we kept the tempo going the way we always want to and I think that kind of helped us separate a little bit. But to be quite honest, I didn’t think we had defensive intensity. We didn’t extend them on offense, we just kind of followed people around the whole game.”
The good news for the Lady Chaps is that it’s still early in the season and they have time to improve before Western Junior College Athletic Conference play begins in January.
MC will play in the Odessa College Classic this weekend, and Jones expects his team to have better energy and a much better overall performance.
“We just need to get our minds where it needs to be and come out and play harder,” Jones said.
NO. 4 MIDLAND COLLEGE 71, WEATHERFORD COLLEGE 49
Weatherford College (4-5): Chaundra Clever 0-2 0-0 0, Brittanni Wilkins 1-6 4-4 7, Tiffany Halliway 0-3 0-0 0, Andrea Davis 3-7 0-0 9, Lindsay Richardson 0-2 0-0 0, Trisha Tuck 2-2 0-0 5, Mitzi Miller 2-4 1-3 5, Kassandra Foreman 4-16 1-4 10, Shameka Lunford 2-8 0-5 4, Kaneisha Benjamin 3-9 0-0 7, Monica McGill 1-9 0-0 2. Totals 18-68 6-16 49
Midland College (11-1): Lauren Mansfield 6-13 2-4 15, Tanica Anderson 4-10 6-7 15, Robnesha Brigham 1-7 0-0 3, Brittany Wilson 2-7 0-0 4, Jessi Cowden 0-3 1-2 1, Adrie Shiels 2-4 0-0 4, Shaquiri Graham 3-8 0-0 6, Alexis Hewitt 1-3 2-2 4, Erika Warren 3-12 2-5 8, Heather Sheppard 2-6 0-0 4, Patricia Bright 2-9 0-0 4, Miriam Seale 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 27-92 14-22 71
Halftime -- MC 36, WC 26. 3-point goals -- WC 7-23 (Davis 3-6, Wilkins 1-4, Tuck 1-1, Foreman 1-4, Benjamin 1-1, Clever 0-2, Richardson 0-2, Halliway 0-3), MC 3-18 (Mansfield 1-3, Anderson 1-3, Brigham 1-3, Wilson 0-1, Simmons 0-2, Shiels 0-2, Cowden 0-4). Total fouls -- WC 19, MC 16. Fouled out -- None. Rebounds -- WC 50 (Foreman 9), MC 75 (Sheppard 10). Assists -- WC 1 (Miller), MC 6 (Mansfield 2). Turnovers -- WC 17, MC 11. Steals -- WC 3 (Foreman 2), MC 11 (Mansfield 3, Anderson 3).
Next game: Midland College vs. Chihuahua (Mexico) University at Odessa College Classic, 5:30 p.m. Friday