By Logan Miller, staff reporter.
On Friday Nov. 11, Delta College women’s basketball lost against Rock Valley College, 76-67. Although Delta lead by eight with 1:34 left in the second quarter, Rock Valley came back and regained the lead after halftime, outscoring Delta by nine in the third quarter.
Harmany Williams, freshman point guard, continued to play well just as she did in Delta’s first game versus KVCC. She scored 11 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the game, though she did turn the ball over at a pretty high rate. Brooke Schutte, sophomore Delta player, also chipped in 11 points.
Jenna Szostak, a starter for the Pioneers, scored 12 points coming off the bench. The bench was a silver lining for the Pioneers with 31 points coming from reserve players, outscoring Rock Valley’s by 18.
On Saturday, Nov. 12, the Delta Pioneers won huge against Pitt-Titusville in an away game. The final score was 91-43.
A lot of the scoring came from players coming off the bench. Szostak racked in 23 points and five rebounds. Brianna Herner had 14 points. Williams had a steady game with six points and five assists.
The Pioneers outscored Pitt-Titusville by double digits in the first three quarters. They caused a ton of turnovers, converting them into 29 total points. Rachel Briggs recorded three steals during the game. Brooke Schutte put up seven points.
The Pioneers played on the road on Nov. 16, winning against Lansing Community College 64-57. Williams played a pivotal role in the win, finishing the game with 20 points, 3 steals and 5 rebounds.
Delta’s largest lead against Lansing was 11, buoyed by the performance of the Pioneers bench. The reserve players contributed 16 points in the end. Szostak scored 16 points in her 28 minutes on the court.
The Pioneers may have started out slow, falling 14 points behind in just the first quarter, but they finished strong. In the last two quarters, Delta outscored Lansing by 19 points.
It’s difficult at times for student athletes to play long stretches on the road while still having to get school work done.
On Nov. 22, playing against Kellogg Community College, the team tried to grow even more as a unit after its first three games. The Pioneers were focused on starting out strong and not falling behind in the early going. Kelly Miller, the Pioneer’s Head Coach, had made an emphasis on not repeating the kind of slow offensive start that they’d had against Lansing six days ago.
Early struggles continued, however, with the Pioneers falling behind by six in the first quarter. Ultimately, Delta lost to Kellogg Community College 70-65. After key players found themselves in foul trouble, Delta remained behind, trying to play with more energy in order create a late-game comeback. Kellogg held onto the lead at halftime.
Lee and Schutte both played well offensively with 13 points and six rebounds each. Lauren Rogers put up a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. The team hasn’t seemed to struggle offensively, but their hustle and defense has come under scrutiny.
The Pioneers will try to redeem themselves in their next game on Nov. 30 versus Rochester College. It’s a welcome return back to Delta for a home game, only their second home game of this early season.