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Women struggle at Lane, sit fourth in Southern Region
The Advocate
The Lady Saints basketball team won once and lost twice in three road games over the past week, dropping games to Lane and Umpqua but notching a win over SWOCC.
Wednesday night’s game against Lane Community College in Eugene ended in a 71-59 loss for the Saints, despite being tied 31-31 at halftime. The Saints managed to only score 28 points in the second half while the Titans poured in 40 points to seal the victory.
“It was a little disappointing for us,” said Head Coach Larry Davis. “We started the game with six straight turnovers, which is not like us. We could have easily opened the game up 14-0 if we didn’t have all of those turnovers.”
Towards the end of the game, Davis said his team was right there and could have won if not for missed free throws and rebounds.
“We missed two big rebounds which they converted into three-pointers, and we were 9 of 16 from the foul line so we could have won.”
Freshman forward Lauren Codling was the high scorer for the Saints with 16 points, followed by sophomore guard Brooklyn Bahme, who scored 15 points, including three of her five 3-point attempts.
The Saints shot 27.78 percent from three-point range, compared to 22.73 percent for the Titans, but the crucial difference came from the free throw line. The Saints went to the line 18 times and scored 10 of those, while the Titans scored 34 of their 43 from the stripe.
MHCC is in fourth place in the Southern Region, behind Lane, Clackamas and Umpqua. The Lady Saints are 3-3 in the region and 11-7 overall.
Lane is undefeated in the region and has a record of 17-1 overall. The Titans were recently featured on foxsports.com for their 71-game home winning streak, the nation’s longest active winning streak.
MHCC decisively beat SWOCC 73-44 Saturday in Coos Bay. The Saints were up 42-17 during halftime, but the Lakers did not give up in the second half.
The Saints scored 39 point off turnovers during the game and the Lakers stepped up to the free throw line just twice more than the Saints.
Bahme and sophomore guard Brittney Yates were the high scorers for the Saints with 14 points each.
“We have a unique ability to shut teams down,” said Davis. “We hold opponents under their season averages and we are a defensive-oriented team. We expect to win.”
In the game Friday against the Umpqua Riverhawks, sophomore point guard Shawnelle Campbell was the game’s top scorer with 21 points, but it was not enough to beat the number three-ranked team in the Southern Region. The
Saints lost 71-65.
The Saints trailed 35-30 at the half. They shot 41 percent from the field for the game, compared to 30 percent for the Riverhawks but that wasn’t enough for the win.
The Riverhawks had four players in double figures. For the Saints, in addition to Campbell, Codling scored 16 while Katie Smith added 11.
The Lady Saints will be at home Saturday at 4 p.m. against Linn-Benton. The Roadrunners are in seventh place in the Southern Region with a 1-5 record (3-13 overall). The Saints met Linn-Benton in the Skagit Valley Crossover Tournament Dec. 20 and won 61-46.
“We have been working hard. We are the hardest-working team in the NWAACCs and if we play our game, we will be fine,” said Davis.
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