Bartels paces Lady Stars to easy win

By Michael Leek
Sports Editor

In the LCC women’s basketball team’s second game following the holiday break, freshman center Kara Bartels recorded a double-double in a 67-52 win over Grand Rapids Community College on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at LCC.

Bartels finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The Stars’ last two wins moved their record to 13-3 on the season.

“It was really exciting to get back to playing games,” Bartels said. “I know our whole team was ready to start playing again.”

LCC freshman guard Bailey Hosford put on a shooting clinic, knocking down four three-pointers during the game to give her 12 points.

The Stars got off to a slow start and ended the first quarter down one point. When the second quarter ended, the Stars led and never looked back.

“We went into the game not working together as much as we usually do and turned it over more than we usually do,” freshman guard Peyton Anderson said. “It hit halftime, we went up and talked and all got on the same page.

“In the second half our shots started falling and were flowing by the end of the game.”

 Anderson said she felt herself start the game slow, but once she kicked into gear found a rhythm. She finished the game with 12 points and five assists.

“I love being out there and by the end of the game I was just so happy,” Anderson said. “I had so much fun during the game,” Anderson said.

Freshman Peyton Anderson retrieves a loose ball against Grand Rapids Community College during the Stars' home game on Jan. 10.  Photo by Kaitlyn Delaney.

Over the break, the athletes had the chance to put in individual work, and have seen their hard work pay off in their first two games back.

“I want to lift (weights) more in general and so over the break, I put an emphasis on that because I want to be stronger for the team,” Anderson said.

Bartels said she worked on her positioning to grab more rebounds.

Conference play begins for the Stars on Saturday, Jan. 13 against Glen Oaks Community College.

Bartels talked about entering conference play.

“Our team has been working super hard to be able to go into this conference with confidence and we need to just push no matter what happens and continue to play our game,” Bartels said.

Anderson added: “We are confident, yes, but we are treating our team as a clean slate because conference play means that the other games we played don’t necessarily help us predict what will happen in conference.”