The College of DuPage women’s basketball team dominated through the first half on Nov. 18 against Minnesota West C&T College, leading by 16 points in the second quarter at home. The Chaparrals seemed sluggish going into the third quarter, and the Lady Jays took advantage. COD couldn’t regroup and lost 70-57, leaving them with a 1-4 record on the season.

“They finished a lot better than we did,” head women’s basketball coach Abby Talley said. “They were in our passing lanes a little bit more, and they just had that confidence I felt like we lacked a little bit. Though they were losing, [they played like] they were still going to come back and take over the game. What we’re working on is keeping that confidence and staying confident the whole game. We have to have confidence in ourselves.”

Sophomore guard Sierra Gibson led the team with 14 points and racked up nine total rebounds. She also made three assists, two steals and one block.

“We got comfortable with the lead again,” Gibson said. “We’ve got to play like we’re down every time we get up. We start thinking we’re going to hold the lead forever. We’ve got to keep playing aggressive and keep pushing the ball. Ultimately, I think we just got really timid, and we shouldn’t have.”

Freshman guard Nala Taylor notched 10 points and six total rebounds. She also made one block and one steal.

“Our momentum changes once we go into halftime,” Taylor said. “Once we come out of halftime our momentum is gone. We’ll have momentum in the first two quarters, and then we come back the third and fourth and there’s momentum. It gets hard to pick it back up, and it was hard for us to come back together as a team. Sometimes I think we just need to slow down and relax.”

Sophomore forward Savannah Anderson scored nine points and three total rebounds. She also made one steal.

“At the end of the day it comes down to mental toughness and wanting it as bad as [when] you started,” Anderson said. “We can’t settle for being good for two quarters, and then not play the other two quarters. We have to play a strong four quarters and not let teams get momentum. It comes down to mental toughness and having the heart to win and not lose.”

Freshman guard Maddie Maracich picked up seven points and led the team with 18 total rebounds. She said she fought for ball possession while she would be alone.

“I really want the ball half the time,” Maracich said. “At some points, I noticed it was just me down there, and I would be tipping it and nobody else would really be down there. I just really wanted to get the ball, because if no one else will I have to. I just stepped up really.”

The Chaparrals take on the Triton College Trojans at 5 p.m. on Nov. 28 at Klaas Court.