PLYMOUTH – The Ancilla College women’s basketball team let a double digit lead slip away in a 67-65 loss to MCCAA Western Conference rival Lansing Community College.
The Lady Chargers (0-12, 0-3 MCCAA Western) led by 11 midway through the second half but were unable to capitalize on the advantage.
Ancilla’s Brittany Cook had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but her running effort from half court caromed off the backboard and rim, sending the Lady Chargers to their 12th loss of the year.
“This was a disappointing loss for us,” said Ancilla head coach Stephanie Beason. “As a coaching staff we’ve preached having effort since early on. I think we had effort in spurts, but this conference is too good top to bottom to take time off, especially when the score is close.”
Cook finished with 21 points on the night while Natasha Ware and Katrina Vannoy each finished with double-doubles in scoring and rebounds. Ware contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds while Vannoy added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Rebecca Bunkowfst added 12 points for Ancilla.
Beason stressed an overreliance on the three-point shot and the inability to defend the paint as primary factors in her team’s loss.
“We fell in love with the three-point shot too much instead of attacking the basket, which is something we had been doing a good job of lately,” said Beason. “They also scored 26 of their 32 points in the first half in the paint. We knew they were an attacking team so we should have done a better job of keeping them out of the paint.”
The Lady Chargers will resume MCCAA Western Conference play on Friday when they travel to Benton Harbor, MI, to play NJCAA #17 Lake Michigan College. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. EDT.
