Tornadoes News
11.06.2011 - Women's Basketball

TALLADEGA - The Talladega College women's basketball team gave fans a high-scoring performance Saturday, taking down Lane College 71-61 for their first win of the season.

Courtsey Wesley Sinor- The Daily Home
"Any time you get a win you're always happy," said TC head coach Romeo Lagmay. "We kind of struggled at first, I think the jitters are still there because it's a new team. I told the ladies to stay focused, and I was most proud that they held their composure. As a team we're not totally satisfied because we know we could have done a lot better, but a win is a win and we'll take it."

TC (1-1) had to play without star senior Ebony Richardson, who suffered a concussion Tuesday and is expected to miss one more game.

Megan Iloff scored a game-high 22 points with three assists in the win.

"Ebony would have definitely been a great asset, but we play with what we've got," Lagmay said. "We definitely had to adjust because we didn't have that much speed. They didn't see us at our best, but they saw us as a team. Iloff is a scorer, sometimes you just have to let someone go loose and unleash them. She finds ways to make buckets - some things you just can't coach."

Shakila Cole added 20 and Kenyatta Harper chipped in 15 for Talladega College. Latoya Davis led the Lady Tornadoes with 11 total rebounds.

The game remained tight through 15 minutes of the first half. The Lady Tornadoes struggled on fast breaks, frequently missing quick layups.

Lane College often led by two or was tied before TC went on a game-changing 9-0 run with about five minutes to play in the first half.

"We had to dictate what was going to guide us," Lagmay said. "We could have come off complacent or go after it, and they went after it."

A 3-pointer from Iloff made it 22-19 with just over five minutes to play. The junior also hit a pull-up jumper on TC's next possession to give the Lady Tornadoes a 24-19 lead. Kenyatta Harper rebounded a missed free throw and pulled back up to increase the TC lead to 26-19.

After another miss on a fast break, Iloff scored again to make it 28-19.

TC led 30-22 at the half.

The Lady Tornadoes came into the second half on fire, reeling off eight unanswered points. Buckets from Iloff, Davis and Cole allowed TC to pick up where they left off in the first half, pushing the lead to 38-22.

The Lady Tornadoes held a comfortable cushion for the remainder of the game for the 10-point win.

Lane College was led by Katora Fleming and Marissa Stewart with 14 points each.

As a team, the Lady Tornadoes shot 42.9 percent from the field, compared to 35.3 percent by Lane College. TC also did better at the line, shooting 72 percent compared to 60.6 percent for Lane College.

The Lady Tornadoes will return to action Wednesday, when they hit the road to play Auburn University Montgomery at 5:30 p.m. The game will kick off a four-game road trip, as the next home game will not be held until Nov. 22 when TC hosts AUM.

"It's tough to win at their house," said Lagmay when asked about AUM. "I think we will definitely have to limit our turnovers. That's going to be a mental game because we know we have the talent. It's going to give us a test to see how we do on the road."