Editor’s Note: This story has been edited to add updated information to the story. The score of the team’s most recent game as well as their current record and the date of the next game have been added to the bottom of this piece.
The College of DuPage women’s basketball team pushed through Triton College on Nov. 28 at home. The Chaparrals made 22 total steals compared to the Trojans’ five, keeping them from gaining momentum. COD used their quickness to their advantage to secure the win 76-57, improving their record to 2-4.*
“The last couple of games we slowed the ball down, and I felt like that kind of ruined our momentum,” head women’s basketball coach Abby Talley said. “This game we continued to push. We continued to press the majority of the game. I think that momentum and energy helped us on offense and [helped us] create some steals on defense.”
Sophomore forward Savannah Anderson notched her first double-double of the season, scoring 12 points with 10 total rebounds. She made four steals.
“I try not to let stats affect me too much, because I’ll get too much into my head,” Anderson said. “I just do what’s best for my team as much as I can.”
Sophomore guard Sierra Gibson led the team with 25 points and racked up three total rebounds. She also led with eight steals and made four assists and one block.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I had that many [steals],” Gibson said. “I love stealing the ball. I feel like that’s what I’m good at. I’m fast, I’m small and I’m sneaky. I just have to finish after I steal.”
Sophomore guard Iwiyisi Osaghae scored 14 points and made eight total rebounds. She also picked up four assists and four steals.
“[We did] a lot of conditioning, and also we pushed the ball up more on the court,” Osaghae said. “This game we did a lot more of pushing the ball up, and [made] more steals to get the ball forward. It was a lot of that in practice, and so we were all confident this game. Confidence was the key factor.”
Freshman guard Nala Taylor put up 10 points and three total rebounds. She also secured three assists, two steals and one block.
“We wanted the game a lot more,” Taylor said. “We wanted this win, and we all came together as a team. We weren’t in our heads. [We need] to stay together as a team, keep the momentum and keep it up.”
*The Chaparrals fell to Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, Ill. on Nov. 30, despite leading by two points going into halftime. The Pioneers found momentum in the second half, scoring 51 collective points. COD couldn’t catch up and fell to Prairie State 83-75, leaving their record at 2-5. The Chaps take on the College of Lake County Lancers at 5 p.m. on Dec. 5 at Klaas Court.
