It was a tough week on several levels for Garrett College's women's basketball squad.
The Lady Lakers lost a 64-55 overtime contest at Howard Community College last Wednesday before suffering a 110-35 wipeout at the hands of undefeated CCBC-Essex on Friday. Chesapeake College capped off GC's difficult week by edging the Lady Lakers, 61-60, Saturday afternoon.
Howard 64, GC 55 (OT)
Columbia, MD – Reserve Tamir Whittle hit two free throws with 26 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime and her Dragons then dominated last Wednesday's extra period.
Janiya Burton (11 points, eight rebounds, three blocks) scored the first points of overtime on a tip-in to give GC a 53-51 lead. Whittle (11 points, seven rebounds, three assists) responded by hitting the second of two free throws to cut Howard's deficit to a point.
Jaylah Putnam (nine points) then nailed a layup with 3:59 remaining in overtime to put the Dragons ahead to stay.
Reserve Mariah Ruth, who finished with a game-high 13 points, sank the second of two free throws and then scored on a layup as Howard built a 57-53 lead.
All three of Howard's double-digit scorers came off the bench as reserve Nicole Forbes finished with 10 points. Howard's reserves outscored the Lady Lakers' bench, 34-8.
Da'shai Morton-Hall (five rebounds, five assists, five steals) scored a team-high 12 points for the Lady Lakers. Hailey Newsome (10 points, five rebounds) was the third GC player to hit double figures.
Garrett took a 38-33 lead into the final quarter, but was outscored in the fourth stanza, 18-13.
Essex 110, GC 35
Essex, MD – Gissel Gamble scored a game-high 22 points last Friday to lead six Knights into double figures last Friday as Essex improved to 15-0.
The Knights – who won the 2023 NJCAA Division II national title – are currently third in the national rankings. Essex is averaging 96.7 points per game this season.
Da'Shai Morton-Hall (seven rebounds) led Garrett with eight points. Hailey Newsome and Manuela Perez de Castro each contributed seven points and five rebounds.
Chesapeake 61, GC 60
Wye Mills, MD – Chesapeake dropped GC to 7-6 overall (2-4 in NJCAA Division II Region 20) as the Lakers took their third consecutive loss.
