With Miles Community College being undefeated and nationally ranked, the Lady Buccaneers of Dawson Community College knew coming into the game the odds were against them. So Head Coach Romeo Lagmay, Jr. mentally prepared them on how to approach such a task, “Much respect to the players and staff at Miles for playing how they are. There’s as much pressure on them for staying undefeated as it is for opponents facing them. Our team is trained to never back down and fight hard, swinging to the end. And that’s how we came into this game.”
Miles defeated Dawson 68-56, but not without an all-out fight by the Lady Buccaneers. DCC came out very strong in the first quarter, winning it 15-8. It didn’t take long for the Lady Pioneers to figure out they were in for a battle, as they tightened up their defensive pressure and outscored Dawson 22-7 in the second quarter. The third quarter was close again with Miles edging Dawson 18-14. The Lady Buccaneers never gave up and the fourth quarter was even 20-20. Dawson easily outrebounded Miles 38-28, but could not handle their full court man press, resulting in 34 turnovers, and Miles converted 33 points from them. The Lady Pioneers bench also outscored Dawson 23-4.
Scoring was not balanced for Dawson either, as only two players were in double figures, while Miles had five in double digits. Alexius Foster led the game with 27 points, along with 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Sarah Miranda scored 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Lagmay continued on Dawson’s effort, “I was thrilled to see how hard we fought. That’s all we ask of them, and everything falls into place. I can respect an individual or team that goes all out regardless of the outcome. If we can play like that from here on out, then we have lots going for us in conference tournament play.”
The Lady Buccaneers play their last game of the season at home on Sophomore Night against Bismarck State College on Sunday, February 24th at 2:00 pm before they open tournament action on the road held at Miles Community College March 1-3.