HCC uses defense to top Trojans

February 11, 2007|by JACK HILL III / Staff Correspondent

Defense.

That was the name of the game for the Hagerstown Community College women's basketball team on Saturday night.

The Hawks dominated on defense to beat Allegany 56-19, keeping any Trojan player from scoring more than five points.

"You just witnessed the defensive effort that you don't see every day," HCC coach Marlys Palmer said. "We really played defense. There is an old saying, 'Defense wins championships'. It was a swarming defense that was amazing.

"We didn't change our regular defense. It was just the intensity. We just made sure that we did all of the little things on defense that we needed to do."

HCC (21-5) built a 12-0 lead during the first 10:06. The first basket for Allegany (18-6) came with 9:23 remaining in the first half.

The Hawks held a 20-8 halftime lead and then outscored the Trojans 36-11 during the second half.

The first point for the Trojans in the second half came with 12:54 left in the game.

It was Sophomore Night and the Hawks' sophomores wanted their final home game to be a successful one.

Marisa Elliot was the only player in double figures with 14 points to go along with seven steals and six rebounds. Samantha Cain collected nine points and six steals. Jamie Robinson added 10 rebounds and eight points, while Chrissy Minnick grabbed six rebounds.

"All six of the sophomores brought what they can do to the game," Elliot said. "The defense was incredible. We never played hard defense like that before for 40 minutes straight. I think that we played great defense and that is what gave us the win. We are playing good as a team right now and I feel that will carry into the playoffs."

The Hawks got help from the freshmen. Point guard Teonna Jewell finished with five assists and four steals, Shuashanna Faulkner pulled down six rebounds and Latoya Buckner blocked four shots.

"They just dominated us for the entire game," Allegany coach Jerry Rice said. "They hammered us on the boards and they hammered us with their defense."

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