Mistakes plague Lady Stars in loss to Mott CC

Rich Schenck
Sports Editor

After comfortably dispatching the Washtenaw CC club team 104-24 in the Gannon Gym Nov. 14, LCC (1-1 overall) fell to Mott CC Nov. 18, 66-76 at home.

With an overhauled roster, LCC Head Coach Ervin Brunson saw his team stay competitive through the entire first half. Mott and LCC both exchanged leads of no more than three points.

"Mott came in and stuck with their game plan," Brunson said.

It was a war of attrition throughout the first half, with both teams capitalizing on each other's missteps. LCC was plagued by traveling woes and Mott left LCC shooters open out at three-point range.

It was LCC which took better advantage as freshman sharpshooter Mikayla Duflo made Mott pay dearly, hitting three of four from downtown in the first quarter. LCC trailed Mott 37-36 at halftime.

"Whenever I would get the ball they would back up," Duflo said. "They got the hint near the end of the game and they stopped me a little bit."

The Lady Stars came out with vice grip defense, forcing turnovers on Mott's first two possessions and managed a 38-37 lead.

"I feel we did pretty good in our zone (defense)," Duflo said. "We need to hustle back a lot more and we need more shooters to help out."

The visitors began to turn up the heat with full-court press and it began to erode LCC's early momentum.

Sophomore Tristen Moore picked up two quick fouls. Careless passing by freshman Natalia Kincaid began to dig LCC into a bigger hole.

"We started out with a high level of energy," Brunson said. "We kind of fizzled down and a lot had to do with Mott keeping their balance. We weren't able to maintain ours."

Duflo did her best to keep LCC in the game, hitting another of her six three-pointers to give Mott a 60-57 lead.

But frustration began to sink its teeth into LCC, ultimately reaching a boiling point when Moore was call for a Flagrant 2 foul, earning her an ejection and a two-game suspension. She finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

"Composure is very important," Brunson said. "Especially when you're behind and what it takes to get back into the flow."

Brunson was very high on the performances of Duflo (20 points) and freshman forward Chasity Potter. The latter was solid off the bench for the Lady Stars, scoring eight points. Her biggest contribution came on the boards, hauling in seven rebounds.

The Lady Stars shot a disappointing 37.3 percent from the field (28 of 75) and were nearly as accurate from three-point range, hitting 36.4 percent (8 of 22).

"I told the girls no one likes to lose," Brunson said. "This is only the second game of the year."

LCC is scheduled to travel to Muskegon Nov. 27-28 to compete in the Muskegon Classic. The Lady Stars are not scheduled to return to the Gannon Gym until Jan. 4 when they host Jackson College.

Photo provided by Kevin Fowler/LCC Photography