November 1st is a huge day in NJCAA basketball as teams are able to officially play their first regular season game. For the MU Ancilla Chargers women's team, this meant a long road trip down to Robinson, IL to take on an NJCAA Division 1 opponent, the Lincoln Trail Lady Statesmen. In what turned out to be a very intense, back and forth game that was played in front of a very loud home crowd, it was the Chargers who made just enough plays down the stretch to leave with a 55-54 win.
The game started very slowly for the Chargers as they struggled to get anything going offensively while the Lady Statesmen jumped out to a 14-6 lead after 10 minutes. The second quarter brought about a completely different MU Ancilla team. They were able to attack the basket in both the half court and in transition, earning multiple trips to the free throw line. Alexis German also caught fire, scoring 10 of her 15 points and 10 of the teams' 27 points in the quarter. The Charger defense also tightened up, allowing only 8 points in the 2nd which led to a 33-22 lead at the break.
The Lady Statesmen stormed out of the locker room on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to two points and gaining all of the momentum. The Chargers were able to steady themselves and outscore Lincoln Trail 10-7 the rest of the way to maintain a 43-38 lead after the 3rd quarter. In what turned out to be a very back and forth final period, both teams were able to hold the lead. Lincoln Trail took their first lead since early in the 2nd quarter and maintained a 51-49 lead under two minutes.
The Chargers responded with huge baskets from Micah Grady and and Nicole Swain to tie the game at 53. After a big defensive stop, it was Kyra Duncan who made a tough right-handed finish on a drive to the basket to give MU Ancilla a 55-53 lead that they would not relinquish. Lincoln Trail added a late FT but came up empty on their last two possessions leading to a 55-54 win for the Chargers.
Kyra Duncan led the team with 18 points and also had 9 rebounds in her Charger debut. Alexis German was next with 15 points followed by Micah Grady with 8 and Nicole Swain with 7. Jayci Allen was dominant on the boards, coming up with 10 rebounds to go with her 4 points. The MU Ancilla defense held a very talented Lincoln Trail team to 32.1% from the field and 25% from the 3 point line.
Coach Gould had this to say following the win, "I am really proud of our team. The ladies took a 4-hour bus ride down here to open their season and any time we can go on the road and knock off an NJCAA Division 1 team like Lincoln Trail, we feel really good about our play. We talk about holding teams under 60 points and how that gives us a chance to compete. Tonight, we were able to hold them to 54 points and 32% shooting. While we are getting better, we know we have a long way to go. We turned it over way too much and did not shoot the ball well. We will get back to work and ready for this weekend's games."
The Chargers return to action on Friday at home against Carl Sandburg College at 6:00 followed by a quick turnaround for an 11:30 tip-off against Edison State on Saturday.
