Despite shooting 27% from the field and giving up seven turnovers in the first half, the College of DuPage women’s basketball team defeated South Suburban Community College 76-39 after flipping the script by improving their shooting to 52% and forcing 33 total turnovers.  

“My message during the first half was that the first quarter was not an example of DuPage basketball,” said women’s head coach Abby Talley. “We weren’t showing pride and discipline on defense; so that was our main focus. I am happy that this is a step in the right direction, but the expectation is that we put it together for both halves.”

The first half of the game was a nightmare for the Chaparrals, which consisted of seven unforced turnovers and poor shot selection to result in a 27% field goal percentage.

After finding their offensive rhythm late in the second quarter, the Chaparrals went on a 10-3 run to end the second quarter to give COD a 26-16 lead going into the second half.

The second half of the game showcased a different College of DuPage team. With the new defensive adjustment of opening the second half with multiple full-court press traps, COD was able to force 17 second half turnovers against South Suburban to go on a 15-6 run to open the third quarter.

Towards the end of the third quarter, the Chaparral’s offensive rhythm led to South Suburban struggling to find an answer. COD went on to increase their lead by a game-high 37 points to defeat the Bulldogs.

Sophomore guard Sierra Gibson kept her team in the game by leading the team in scoring with 12 points and securing four rebounds in the first half. Gibson finished the night with 25 points, five rebounds and seven steals.

“The first half was just not it,” said Gibson. “We played down to a team that we just know are not better than us, but playing like that doesn’t help us get better. The second half was all about energy. We weren’t doing what we wanted to do in the first half, which was trying to push [South Suburban] in transition to tire them out. In the future, we need to just maintain our energy from the first play of the game.”

COD’s first-half shooting struggles set up freshman center Teegan Roach to step up for the team by controlling the paint and winning offensive rebounds to give COD second-chance points. Roach finished the game with 11 points, eight rebounds and an assist.

“Our message at half was to just come together as a team and hold each other accountable for the mistakes we were making,” said Roach. “Also, we need to understand that we are going to make mistakes, and we just need to figure out how to change those things. We learned to work together, get around their defense, and play as a whole team in the second [half].”

Freshman guard Autumn Rohde’s second-half defensive efforts allowed COD to expand their lead further going into the fourth quarter. Rohde finished the game with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and three steals.

“In the second half, we decided that we needed to be selfish in some ways and help the team in other ways,” said Rohde. “We just started taking better shots and getting everyone involved. Personally, I always try to get the team involved as a ‘pass-first person’, so getting a chance to shoot the ball allows me to find my rhythm and helps get my [teammates] their rhythm.”

The Chaparrals (9-19) will play their final game of the regular season against Wilbur Wright College in Chicago at 1 p.m. on Feb. 24.