Wednesday night, Texas College (0-6) had no answer for the Lady Tigers, period.
In their first home game of the season, Grambling State University (2-3) destroyed Texas College 92-60 for their second win.
“Obviously, we knew Texas College was coming in and wanted to get the upset today, but we were determined most definitely to get our second win of the season,” said assistant basketball coach Lou Hamilton.
Joanna Miller did a little bit of everything. She led the way with 22 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and six steals, nearly a quadruple-double.
“It’s an awesome stat,” said Hamilton. “It shows that she is not a selfish player. With her playing like this, we have a great chance of winning.”
Miller was followed by Jordan Mitchell-Harmel with 20 points, seven rebounds and Victoya Ricks with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Hamilton said it is key when a freshman player starts and scores effectively like Ricks. But, she is not the only freshman putting up big numbers. The four freshman players had an outstanding night, scoring 40 of Grambling’s points. Even Channelle Fisher scored her first point of the season. With nearly 45 seconds remaining in the game, Fisher was fouled by Shantel Jones of Texas College.
The bench and crowd cheered as, Fisher approached the line. The crowd settled to allow her to focus. She misses the first, the crowd signed.
The referee passed the ball back to the freshman. Fisher attempted the second free throw and made it. The fans and players were thrilled of the nine players who played, eight scored.
“We’re excited about us being able to get these freshmen some experience against some really, really good teams,” said Hamilton. “That’s going to pay big dividends when we start looking in depth when we’re trying to win the SWAC.”
Along with Mitchell-Harmel, Dennisha Chambers started and came in with 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists and Dominique Patrick who had seven points.
Grambling took the tip and started with an 8-1 run, six of those points from Ricks. By 14:14 in the first half, the Lady Tigers gained momentum with a seven point lead. They increased their score with a 10-0 run by 10 minutes until halftime. With less than five minutes left in the first half, the Lady Tigers were up 36-19.
At halftime the score was 46-26. Grambling State continued the second half strong and expanded their lead.
The Lady Tigers’ largest lead was 37 points with five minutes left in the game. From the intensity of the crowd, you couldn’t tell the Tigers were up by almost 40 points. But it was the first home game, and a win for the Tigers is an unfamiliar feeling.
Head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs has been absent due to neck surgery but is expected to return as soon as she is cleared from her doctors.
“She most definitely will be back this season,” said Hamilton.
The Lady Tigers will travel to Lubbock, Texas to play against Texas Tech University on Saturday at 2 p.m.