Home Dominance Continues: Lady Chargers 7-0

Article by Rob K. Winkle, Jr., B.A. | Photos by Reflections by Rob, LLC

The Edison State Lady Chargers entered Wednesday night 13-4 (3-1) to take on fellow OCCAC competitors Owens Community College from Perrysburg, Ohio. The Chargers defeated the Express earlier in the season by a score of 71-70 in overtime when they visited Perrysburg on December 16, 2023.

Tonight would be another superb performance by the women on all sides of the ball. Offensively, the Chargers were led by their two-time OCCAC player of the week this year, freshman Allison Hughes (Parkway HS), who scored 22 and posted heavy numbers on the boards. Freshman Abby Yukon (Graham HS) and sophomore Makenzee Maschino (Troy HS) scored 11, and a pair of Chargers would also contribute double digits–sophomore Paxton Hunley (Miami East HS) and freshman Aminata Dicko (Central Crossing HS) posted ten each.

At 1:53 into the game the Chargers would suffer a significant injury when freshman forward Ania Pearson (Lima Shawnee HS) would go down with an ankle injury. She would be assisted off the court and return to the bench with crutches to continue to support her team, but she did not return to the game. 

Before tonight's game, Pearson had appeared in all 17 games, starting 15 of those for the Chargers, and played 401 minutes (23.6 mins per game), scored 108 total points, a 71.4 free-throw percentage, 115 rebounds (6.8 RPG), 25 assists, 43 steals, and 12 blocks prior to this game. As the stats show, Pearson's presence was more felt on defense and ball control than offensively, though she scored double digits in 4 games. Pearson's status for Saturday at Cuyahoga CC at this time is unknown.

The Chargers had a strong defensive presence tonight, as always, showing they are not purely an offensive team with standout defensive performances from Allison Hughes, Makenzee Maschino, Aminata Dicko, and Raegan Beverly that stood out along with their trademark ball movement and control. This was typical of this team this season, particularly on their home court.

Abby Yukon would score double digits for her 15th of 18th appearances this season; freshman Morgan Allen (Tecumseh HS) would not have the career performance she did on Saturday; however, she would still contribute with defense and some key assists. Makenzee Maschino was rounded on all sides of the ball, providing offense, defense, and ball movement to her teammates and scoring her fifth double-digit game in now fifteen appearances. Allison Hughes, who is already going into tonight's action as the team's leading scorer for the season, averaging 13.5 ppg, would exceed that with her 12th of 18 appearances in double-digit scoring.

The Chargers would lead at the end of the 1st 21-4, half-time 43-22, 3rd 63-39, and the final would be 81-59, never trailing in this contest. With this win, the Chargers improve to 14-4 (4-1) second place in the OCCAC behind the 4-5(1-0) Lakeland squad whom they play February 3rd. The Lady Chargers' next contest is Saturday, January 20, 2024, at Cuyahoga CC at 3:00 pm; they return home to play Bluffton University JV on January 22 at 5:30 pm at Edison State's Piqua Campus. The women previously defeated Bluffton by a score of 79-49, and Saturday is the first matchup between the Chargers and Triceratops of Cuyahoga.

Following those two games, the women have seven regular season games remaining, three of which are home games on January 31, 2024, February 3, 2024, and February 10, 2024, so there are still plenty of chances to watch the electrifying women on the court. Seven of their remaining nine games are OCCAC contests, leaving the conference championship very much in reach for these ladies.