Largo, MD – It has been weeks since the Lady Panthers played against another team besides themselves in practice but tonight it appeared they did not miss a beat by beating Frederick CC (9-14; 3-10 MD JUCO Conference) 65-43 in the quarterfinal round of the MD JUCO Conference Tournament.
It appeared BCCC had to adjust from their normal defensive attack due to their shot blocking sensation Denisha Haywood (Forest Park/Baltimore, MD) nursing an ankle injury. However, the team left their worries at the door behind the outstanding performance from freshman guard Ciarra Lucas (Old Mill/Baltimore, MD) ending the game with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks.
Baltimore City Community College Lady Panthers (18-0; 11-0 MD JUCO Conference) extended their undefeated season and is one step closer to returning to the championship game of the MD JUCO Conference Tournament.
The Lady Panthers shot 49% (27-55) from the field and was a season low 10% (1-10) from the three-point line. Even though the team turned out a not so average shooting performance from the three-point line but they did make it up by maintaining their defensive pressure ending the game with 27 steals and nine blocks.
Coming off the bench and providing a strong performance were freshmen center Shaun Shields (Coppin Academy/Baltimore, MD) and forward Chanet Wallace (Edmondson/Baltimore, MD). Shields finished the game with a season high eight points, two rebounds and two blocks while Wallace ended with eight points and seven rebounds.
Freshman point guard Tanira McClurkin (St. Frances/Baltimore, MD) stepped up her game by finishing two assists short of a double-double with 12 points, eight assists, four rebounds and six steals. While sophomore guard Charda Lomax confirmed the status of being team captain and NJCAA All-American finishing the game with five points, three rebounds, seven assists and a team leading 10 steals.
On the season, Lomax has a total of 77 steals averaging 5.1 per game and is currently ranked number one nationally.
Next game for the Lady Panthers will be the second game of the semifinals on Saturday against Garrett College. BCCC beat Garrett during the regular season 67-54 behind the dominating performance by Lucas with 31 points.
Both women and men will have semi-finals on Saturday, with the women at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and then men at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The men's championship will be at 1 p.m. on Sunday with the women's final to be held at 3 p.m.
Tickets for the tournament are $10 each day or $25 for a tournament pass. Tournament programs, t-shirts and concessions will be on sale during the event.
For more information on the tournament, contact Prince George's Community College Athletics Office 301-322-0518 or visit the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference website at www.mdjucor.org.
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