Campus News
February 14th, 2022
Laker women stay hot by routing Harford
Mickens' 18 points leads a balanced team effort in 65-37 victory
McHENRY, MD – Garrett College's unselfish offensive style was on full display Saturday afternoon as the Lakers totaled 21 assists in a 65-37 women's basketball win over visiting Harford Community College.
"We shared as a team to get each other better shots," observed Josias Mickens, who coupled a game-high 18 points with a game-high 6 assists while also leading the Lakers in rebounds (8) and steals (6). Coach [JT Lewis] told us to run our offense quick and try to get some quick buckets."
"We're a pretty hard team to beat when we share the ball," observed Lewis, whose team used a 14-0 run in the second quarter to break the game open. "Each game they've done better and better moving the ball. We're attacking the gaps and kicking the ball out well."
The Lakers improved to 15-3 overall and 7-3 in the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference with the victory. They've won 3 straight and 10 of their last 11 contests, including an 8-1 record since Mickens joined the team for the second semester.
"Adding Josias has helped us out in every way," said Lewis. "She's a great teammate who wants to win. She's turned us into a faster-paced team."
GC led wire-to-wire, starting the game with an 8-0 run as 4 different Lakers had baskets in the game's first 3 minutes. The Lakers, despite only dressing 6 players, opened in a full-court defense that gave Harford fits.
"Our team loves to press and put pressure on the ball," said Lewis, whose squad came up with 15 steals against Harford.
"I had tried to stay away from pressing because I want to stay out of foul trouble," Lewis added. "Over the last couple of games, we've done a better job moving our feet and not fouling. So, we started in the press to get their ‘bigs' moving and the ball out of their point guard's hands."
Harford played the Lakers even the rest of the opening quarter, thanks in large part to Kaitlyn Thacker. The Owls' 5-foot-8 forward scored 6 of her 9 points in the opening quarter, which ended with GC holding a 17-9 advantage.
Owl Kristin Martin then banked home a jumper to pull her team within 17-11, but the Lakers broke the game open with their 14-0 run that included a pair of Mickens 3-pointers. GC led by as many as 23 points in the first half before settling for a 36-16 cushion at the break.
GC kept its foot on the gas in the third quarter. The Lakers put together an 8-0 run early in the quarter, which they concluded with consecutive 3-pointers by Jersey Wise and Josie Canales to stretch their lead to 56-27.
"The team stayed pretty aggressive – we started to turn it up in the second half," remarked Mickens.
Wise (14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals) and Canales (13 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals) joined Mickens in double figures. The 5-foot-5 Wise was also a huge disrupter to the Owls' offense, regularly diving for loose balls and tying up opposing players to create jump-ball situations.
"Jersey likes the contact and loves to battle in the post for rebounds," said Lewis. "Sometimes you have to sit Jersey down and tell her to take it down a notch just because you don't want to lose her to an injury – but that's a great problem to have."
Aliyah Tucker (9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) just missed double digits while Harmoni Swain – honored before the game during Sophomore Day – contributed 7 points and 5 rebounds.
Shay Barlow added 4 points and 2 boards off the bench for the Lakers.
Patricia Sherrill (10 points) was the only Owl in double figures.
Garrett 66, CCBC-Catonsville 46
Catonsville, PA – Josie Canales scored 8 of her 12 points in the second quarter, including a 3-point play that put the Lakers ahead to stay, as Garrett College shook off an early deficit last Thursday while handing Catonsville just its third league loss of the season.
Jersey Wise (game-high 9 steals) scored a team-high 16 points and Aliyah Tucker (15 points, game-high 12 rebounds) posted a double-double as all 5 Laker starters reached double figures. Josias Mickens (11 points, 8 rebounds, game-high 6 assists) and Harmoni Swain (10 points, 5 rebounds) were GC's other double-digit scorers.
Laker Shay Barlow added 3 rebounds, 2 points and 2 blocked shots in 24 productive minutes off the bench.
Catonsville (10-6 overall, 5-3 league) jumped out to a 12-9 lead as Morgan Gause scored 6 of her game-high 20 points in the opening quarter. Belinda Glenn – the Cardinals' other double-digit scorer with 12 points – had 4 points in the first quarter to help Catonsville build its early lead.
The Lakers used an 8-0 run to take the lead for good, erasing a 15-11 deficit as Canales scored 5 points and Wise drained a timely 3-pointer. Swain nailed consecutive jumpers to close out the first half as GC stretched its lead to 30-23 at the break.
Garrett expanded its advantage early in the third quarter with a 9-2 surge that included 5 points from Mickens and gave the Lakers their first double-digit lead at 39-26.
Glenn opened the fourth quarter with a trey that pulled Catonsville within 44-37, but GC responded with a 9-0 run that broke the game wide open. Swain, Canales and Wise each had hoops to start the surge, which Mickens finished with a 3-pointer that made it 53-37.
