Lady Devils cruise to win over Tacoma
Sunday, February 10, 2008 7:08 AM PST
By Rick McCorkle
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E-mail this articleIn their last meeting against Tacoma almost a month ago, the Lower Columbia College Lady Devils trailed by 21 points in the first half before recovering to win 69-67.
LCC coach Chad Meadors didn't want to see a replay of that game when the Lady Titans visited Truman Myklebust Gym on Saturday.
The Lady Devils came out firing, built a 13-point lead midway through first half and coasted to an 83-56 victory in NWAACC Western Division women's basketball.
LCC (17-5, 10-1 league) has won three straight games and 11 of its last 12 to remain tied atop the division standings with Centralia. Tacoma fell to 4-18, 3-9 in league.
In January, Tacoma's smaller players slashed and drove into the paint before kicking the ball outside to a 3-point shooter, who would knock down the long shot. On Saturday, the Titans didn't have the same luck. Tacoma made only 2-of-9 shots outside the arc.
"They gave us problems with their two guards up front, but we stayed the course and knew what we were doing was right," Meadors said. "We stayed in front of them and denied their shooters on the wings."
Meadors' game plan worked against a Tacoma team that had only six players in uniform.
"It paid off because they wore down in the second half," he said. "They wore down last time, and there was no reason they wouldn't this time."
LCC missed its first five shots before heating up with back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Heidi Jackson (two) and Kourtney Craft for a 9-3 advantage in the first four minutes.
Jackson hit four treys en route to a game-high 24 points.
The Lady Devils grabbed a 24-11 lead midway through the half, but the Titans refused to fade. Tacoma trimmed the deficit to nine with free throws from Jaharra Miller and a layup from Keisha Boles with eight minutes left, and finished the half on a 14-10 run to trail 34-29.
"Overall, we played well, even in the first half," Meadors said. "We took quicker shots in the first half, which contributed to the score. We didn't take a lot of long shots so they could get long rebounds to start fast breaks."
LCC stretched its halftime lead to 12 three minutes into the second half, but the Titans cut the deficit to 43-35 when Megan Block knifed through the LCC defense for a layup with 15:25 left. The Lady Devils countered with a 3-ball from the top of the arc from Jackson moments later and took a double-digit lead they would not relinquish.
"We did a lot better job in the second half," Meadors said. "We pounded ball inside more, and did what we wanted to do by getting back on defense. The kids also found the open players better. This was as close to a complete game we've had since the Centralia game."
Making the extra pass and finding the open player resulted in LCC amassing 27 assists. Jessi Hanna dished six, sisters Nadra and Rene'e Evans had five apiece, and Jackson handed out four. The Lady Devils' defense also forced 21 turnovers, which they converted into 22 points, and pulled 22 offensive rebounds that led to 21 second-chance points.
Rene'e Evans also had 13 points and finished a rebound short of a double-double with nine. Kelsey Forrest added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Katie Garcin had 10 points and five boards. Jackson also chipped in eight caroms, Nadra Evans added six, and Garcin and Holly Weston snagged five apiece.
Lady Devils 83, Titans 56
TACOMA (83) - Jennifer Sorensen 12, Megan Block 12, Shavon Tate 9, Cory Warner 3, Keisha Boles 2, Jaharra Miller 18.
LOWER COLUMBIA (56) - Heidi Jackson 24, Katie Garcin 10, Nadra Evans 6, Holly Weston 6, Jessi Hanna 5, Rene'e Evans 13, Kelsey Forrest 12, Kourtney Craft 5, Megan Holmes 2, Kristina Craft 0, Kasey Craft 0, Jordan Budd 0.
Halftime:
LCC 34, TCC 29.
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