Turnovers Key Women's Basketball Win

Going into Saturday afternoons' matchup with the Colorado Ballers, the Lamar Community College women's basketball team had been losing some close games mainly due to offensive rebounds and turnovers, it was a reversal of fortunes on Saturday as they forced 19 turnovers and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds for a total of 31 points in a 72-60 win.

The first half was back and forth for the first five minutes, with neither team getting more than a five point lead. A brief spurt at the end of the quarter saw the Lopes end the first up eight, 22-14. The second saw LCC slowly expand their lead, by slowly wearing down the Ballers, and taking a 44-30 lead into the half, after a Nagua Puot jumper as time expired gave the Lopes the 14 point cushion.

In the third quarter, the Lopes ramped up their defense, outscoring the Ballers, 12-2 over the first 5:35 of the quarter, to push the lead to 56-32. The third quarter would see Lamar holding a 22 point cushion, 61-39. The fourth would be a complete 180, as LCC would struggle to score, while also not being as tight on defense as they had been the previous three quarters. After briefly pushing the lead back to 24, the Ballers proceed to go on a 10-0 run to cut it to 14 with just under four minutes remaining. It would not get any closer than 12 the rest of the way as Lamar held off the rally.

"I thought for three quarters, we looked really good defensively and offensively. We had good movement, rebounded well, and I thought we did a good job on the defensive side of the ball. The fourth I thought we let up some and allowed them to get back into the game." Said Head Coach, Brandon Colvin regarding his team's effort.

For the Runnin' Lopes, Althea Angeles led with 17 points, while adding five rebounds, and four steals. Sophia Trujillo added 16 points, including 4-6 from three, while Kya Gastineau rounded out the double digit scoring with a 12 point effort, adding seven rebounds. For the Ballers, Angela Goodman scored 16, while Brittany Hernandez secured a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while adding seven blocks.

Lamar is now 5-10 on the season and will go into a big week, playing three key Region 9 South games. On Monday they travel to Otero for a 6:00 pm matchup, Wednesday, host Otero at 5:00 pm, and then round out the big week with Trinidad State at 5:00 pm on Friday.