By Ted Waddell
LOCH SHELDRAKE — December 24, 2002 – Santa didn’t bring any presents for the Sullivan County Community College (SCCC) Lady Generals basketball team during Saturday’s opening game of a women’s/men’s doubleheader “Down in the Bunker” at Paul Gerry Fieldhouse.
The Lady Lions of Gateway Community College played the role of Ebenezer Scrooge by defeating SCCC, 69-45.
Although the Lady Generals (1-5 overall, 0-2 NJCAA Region XV) took a one-point lead into the locker room at the half, in the second 20 minutes of play Gateway (8-5 overall, 6-1 Div. II Region XXI) put a real whupping on the home team as a couple of Lady Lions heated up the game from outside the three-point line.
“Sullivan came out really good in the first half,” said Gateway Coach Hi Jackson. “They came out and played us real strong, and we had to tighten up in the second half.”
According to Gateway’s first year women’s basketball team coach, they put maximum pressure on the Lady Generals’ guards Rachelle Irwin and Miranda Walker in an all-out effort to shut down their scoring game. And it worked.
Gateway’s Jackie Jean Baptiste and Shakeira McLean put on a demonstration of how to heat it up from the three-point line. Baptiste swished five shots from beyond the 19’ 9” arc and McLean nailed four such shots as the duo combined for 27 long-distance points.
“I thought we played an excellent first half,” SCCC Coach Kyle Walter said. “In the second half, they got hot from the ‘three’ [point line] and we got down a little bit mentally and weren’t able to overcome it.
“Physically, I think we are where we need to be, but we just have to get it together mentally,” he added. “Once we do that, we’ll realize our potential.”
Walter said that when the Lady Generals puts togther a full game, not just a good first half, they’ll be a force to reckon with in the region.
Double digit scorers for the Lady Lions included Baptiste (18), Jamie Walker (16) and McLean (14)
For the Lady Generals, it was sophomore Irwin all by her lonesome with a total of 13 points.
Stats from the free throw line: SCCC 3/8 (38 percent); GCC 6/14 (43 percent).