#6 Lakers take 3rd place with the win over #3 Mesa

No. 6 Lake Land finishes third at SC4 ThumbCoast Tip-Off after win over No. 3 Mesa

PORT HURON, Mich. -- Charleece Davis and the Lake Land College women's basketball team made their presence felt at the inaugural SC4 ThumbCoast Tip-Off at St. Clair County Community College.

One night after taking the nation's No. 4 team to the brink, the No. 6 Lakers knocked off No. 3 Mesa (Ariz.) Community College Saturday at the SC4 Fieldhouse to finish third in the first-year tournament.

"(We showed) that we're here," Davis said. "I would say we're considered one of the best teams, too, and we can compete with anyone and are going to give our all."

Davis had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who were 2-1 on the weekend. Kaylee Niebrugge added 21 points, while Kayla Bullington had eight points, and Audri Spencer had 10 rebounds.

Lake Land used stifling defense to hold Mesa to just 14 points in the first half, and had built a 15-point lead in the first minute of the third quarter. It then did enough to hold off a strong second-half push from the Thunderbirds.

"I told them, let's win all four quarters, and we won three of the four," Lake Land coach David Johnson said. "Mesa is too good of a team not to respond. That's exactly what I told the kids at halftime, 'They're going to respond.' And they did, they're a really good team. We were fortunate enough to respond back in the fourth quarter."

Mesa was led by Amya Bekele, who scored 11 points. Britany Kogbara had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Thunderbirds, while Ashiian Hunter had eight points.

"Obviously they were packing the paint well, and our guards were not prepared to shoot the ball like they have to, so that was discussed at halftime," Mesa coach Kori Stephenson said. "All the credit to them and their defensive gameplan."

No. 6 Lake Land 57, No. 3 Mesa 51 (Box Score)

The ThumbCoast Tip-Off is presented by SC4 along with Discover the Blue, and is sponsored by McLaren Port Huron, LiUNA Local 1075, SEMCO Energy, Troy Cleaners, DoubleTree Port Huron, Standard Office Supply, Buffalo Wild Wings, All-Star Services, ThumbCoast Realty, LLC, Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, Earl Smith Distributing Co., 4Sports, Body Armor and Casey's.

St Clair County Community College (SC4) was founded in 1923 and is the only public higher education institution in the thumb of Michigan. SC4 is a comprehensive community college that provides certificates and degrees for employable skills and college credits that can be transferred to a four-year college or university. The college provides collegiate arts and athletics for the area and has been an asset for students and the Port Huron community for over one hundred years.  

For media inquiries, please contact Sarah Rutallie, Chief of Staff/Senior Vice President, SC4, at srutallie@sc4.edu

ThumbCoast Tip-Off Results/Schedule

Thursday:

• Game 1: Lake Land 64, Edison State 58
• Game 2: CCBC Essex 90, Lansing 73
• Game 3: Mesa 64, Mid Michigan 56
• Game 4: Harcum 64, SC4 61

Friday:

• Game 5: Lansing 79, Edison State 52
• Game 6: SC4 85, Mid Michigan 84
• Game 7: CCBC Essex 68, Lake Land 58
• Game 8: Harcum 54, Mesa 52

Saturday:

• Seventh-Place Game: Mid Michigan 84, Edison State 66
• Fifth-Place Game: SC4 70, Lansing 68
• Third-Place Game: Lake Land 57, Mesa 51

Championship Game: CCBC Essex vs. Harcum, 6 p.