The College of DuPage women’s basketball team looked sluggish at home on Jan. 30 against Kankakee Community College, struggling to finish offensively. The Chaparrals outshot the Cavaliers 95-53 from the field and 18-9 in three-point attempts, but those shots didn’t start falling consistently until the fourth quarter. They rallied to make a comeback but couldn’t catch up after two starters fouled out. COD fell to KCC 68-58 and their record sits at 6-16.

“We had more shot attempts than them, we’re just not connecting,” head women’s basketball coach Abby Talley said. “Obviously shooting a total field goal percentage of 24 is not going to win many games. We outshot them by 40 shots, but the fact is you still have to put them in in order for it to count. That’s where we struggled. Defensively, I thought we did a great job. We forced 25 turnovers, but you can’t wait until the fourth quarter to start playing.”

COD has lost seven games this season by four points or less. Sophomore forward Savannah Anderson recorded her sixth double-double of the season before fouling out with 2:54 left in the fourth quarter. She racked up 12 points and 12 total rebounds. Anderson also led the team with four steals and made one block. She expressed frustrations with the team’s lack of consistency throughout games.

“I always tell people I have such an amazing team here at COD, but our record doesn’t show it,” Anderson said. “We don’t turn it on at the time we need to turn it on. We need to play the way we did in the fourth quarter for entire games, and then no team will be able to do anything against us. We’re such a good team, we just need to start strong and finish strong.”

Freshman guard Megan Martinez matched Anderson’s 12 points and put up two defensive rebounds. She also picked up two assists and one steal. Martinez mentioned how COD’s shot inconsistency messed with other aspects of the game.

“It was very on and off,” she said. “Our shots weren’t going in, but that was also affecting us back on [defense]. It was all over the place. [During the fourth quarter] we tried moving the ball more and going in for our easy shots.”

The Chaps’ point production nearly doubled in the fourth quarter, scoring 24 points collectively. Sophomore forward Sarah Topps secured 11 points and nine total rebounds. She also added three assists, two steals and one block. She said the team needs to push harder at the beginning of games to avoid falling behind.

“We definitely won the fourth quarter,” Topps said. “We’ve just got to come out before that; it shouldn’t be the fourth quarter that gets us back into the game. We’ve got to be able to play all four quarters as hard as we can.”

Sophomore guard Sierra Gibson picked up 10 points and two offensive rebounds before fouling out with 2:36 left in the fourth quarter. She made three steals and two assists. She stressed the importance of winning Thursday’s game against Joliet Junior College.

“We need a win on Thursday,” Gibson said. “Not only is it a very important day for people who are battling breast cancer or have beaten breast cancer, but it’s also about holding our own. We beat [JJC] in the Region 4 Championship [last season] and they want their get back. We can’t allow them to get their get back, especially on our court. It’s just not going to happen. We have to play with heart from the beginning and protect our court.”

Talley said the Chaps possess all the elements of a strong team, but it comes down to having a strong mentality.

“Back to the drawing board I guess,” she said. “The girls execute the plays, it’s just [about] making the shots fall and being confident. I don’t know how long it’s going to take for us to get there, but I’m hoping they get there by Thursday.”

The Chaparrals will host a pink-out game honoring breast cancer survivors on Thursday night. They’ll be selling pink t-shirts for $10 and donating the proceeds to Pink Heals Joliet. As a breast cancer survivor, Talley emphasized what their next game and the cause they’re supporting means to the team.

“It’s our pink-out game, and we’re all super excited. We have a couple of breast cancer survivors coming, so we want to show our support while getting that W.”

COD battles their conference rivals in the Joliet Junior College Wolves at 5 p.m. on Feb. 1 at Klaas Court.