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It was a tall task, on the road against a ranked opponent with more firepower.
But the self-inflicted mistakes might have been what doomed the Montcalm Community College Centurions women’s basketball team in its 100-69 loss to the Mid-Michigan Lakers, Wednesday, Feb. 4.
“I think the biggest difference was that Mid had a big bench and was able to have a good, fresh rotation throughout the game,” Centurions’ head coach Scott Pedigo said. “Turnovers got us, too. If we were to cut those turnovers down, it would’ve been a different game.”
The Lakers (8-0 MCCAA North, 19-3 overall) were ranked 15th in the country coming into this game while MCC (4-4 MCCAA North, 7-14 overall) had the momentum of winning its last two games and four out of the last five. Hitting the first four three-point shots starting out the game, Pedigo and his team thought it might be their night. However, the Lakers began to press, defensively, and suddenly things took a turn for the Centurions.
“We started the game with four straight threes and we found Emma Rewa (Greenville, Mich.) for three layups right away breaking their press. But when we got gassed, we got a little slower and they caught up on us,” Pedigo said. “We did a lot of things right, but they finished their baskets and we didn’t. But they’re good. They’re the No. 15 team in the country for a reason.”
The Lakers’ size also had an effect on the Centurions’ inside game, with 6-foot-3 Wren Nelson, 6-foot-2 Madison Smith and 5-foot-10 Abigail Lautzenheiser all patrolling in the paint, which disrupted some of MCC’s game plan.
The win was the Lakers’ 10th consecutive win.
One of the highlights for the Centurions in the loss was freshman guard Kendall Stout (Stanton, Mich.) scoring a career-high 29 points. She scored six three-pointers in the first half alone.
With another MCCAA North heavyweight — Bay College (7-1 MCCAA North, 18-4 overall) — coming to Sidney Saturday, Feb. 7, Pedigo said his team must figure out a way to beat the press, which it will likely see with the Norse.
Pedigo gave credit to freshman point guard Karlie Bacon (Stanton, Mich.) for doing well against Mid Michigan’s press, but he said more of his players have to follow suit.
“We have to break the press down,” Pedigo said. “We’re not having trouble scoring points. That was an issue with us earlier this season. But we have to start finding the open player quicker.”
Having seen the press from many teams this season, Stout is confident MCC will figure it out.
“We didn’t find ourselves very frustrated with what Mid was doing considering we broke their press many times,” she said. “I think we were more so proud playing the No. 15 team in the country and keeping up our score with them, especially in the first half.”
Pushing the ball up the court and hustling will be key against Bay, Stout believes.
“It could give us an advantage,” she said. “We need to stay confident in ourselves and keep playing well like we have been.”
Despite the loss, Pedigo was happy with the offensive production, which would’ve been the eighth time the Centurions hit the 70-point mark this season. It is a sign that his team has improved since the beginning of the year and are comfortable with each other in the offensive game plan. He knew Mid Michigan was going to be a tough challenge, but he believes his team gained confidence in that loss.
“Last year was tough because we were getting beat up by a lot of teams. But this year, we are starting to understand that we an do things well against a good team,” Pedigo said. “Running into two good teams back-to-back is a buzzsaw, but if we can play well at home and the rest of the way, we have a good shot at making the state playoffs.”
UP NEXT: The Centurions host Bay College on Saturday, Feb. 7, with tip-off at 1 p.m. The Norse are currently in second place in the MCCAA North and MCC is tied for fourth place with Muskegon Community College.