Feb. 12, 2022, LANSING, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Community College women's basketball team qualified for postseason play after a convincing 66-50 win over Lansing Community College on Saturday.
The men's basketball team fell to the hot-shooting Stars, falling 105-87.
The GRCC women’s team dominated on the glass, finishing with 43 rebounds against just 20 for Lansing. The team also put up its third-best shooting performance at 42.9% (24-56), and best free throw shooting performance, sinking 17 in 20 attempts.
Grace Lodes, 8 for 16 from the floor and 6 for 7 from the free throw line, finished with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds to go along with 6 assists.
Sally Merrill picked up her eighth double-double with a 13-point, 10-rebound performance in 36 minutes of action.
"Pleased with the win today," Coach David Glazier said. "I thought we responded well to a competitive first half, and the adjustments we made at halftime, specifically our defensive intensity and execution, to hold Lansing to 17 combined points in the second and third periods. I also loved that we had 20 assists on 24 made field goals."
The women’s team’s win improved its record to 14-8 overall and 10-2 in the conference, and also qualified them for this year's NJCAA Region XII-Great Lakes District A Basketball Championship, which begins on March 1.
The men’s team record drops to 9-16 overall, 4-10 in the conference.
“We talked before and after the game about the importance of sustaining success,” Coach Joe Fox said. “As a young team, you need to build off of successes and string positive things together. We need to do a better job of building on momentum throughout the game, especially defensively. You need to be fully locked in to get stops, and commit to rebounding. Those are the main things holding this group back from reaching their potential right now.”
LCC's men's team shot 56.2% from the field compared to 39.1% for visiting GRCC.
Drew Moore carried the team with 27 points on 10-21 from the floor while Ryel Daye contributed with the team's only double-double, with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Point guard Danyel Bibbs had 11 assists for the third time this season and grabbed 5 boards.
GRCC's women's team will return to the hardwood on Feb. 14 at Kellogg Community College. The men's team returns to action on Feb. 16 at Muskegon Community College.