By Nathan Deen
Published on January 30, 2008
The PJC women’s basketball team experimented with a new strategy against No. 6 ranked Chipola: starting four guards and a center. Head coach Chanda Rigby said that this lineup works perfectly into the defensive trapping scheme she has been trying to incorporate into her game plan.
The line up included guards Angelese Hunter, Kristian Diggs, Victoria Hunt, and Sierra Highgate along with center Geneisha Dunbar, who, so far, has shown that she can defend the post without the help of a forward.
Against the Lady Indians on Jan. 19, the four-guard line up worked perfectly as the Lady Pirates got a 71-54 victory.
“We just took a gamble with that and it worked because they weren’t able to get the ball up the court,” said Rigby, who has been preaching defense all season and to great effect as the Lady Pirates are only allowing 60 points per game.
The Lady Pirates (14-6, 3-3) were hoping the win would get them back on track after losing three straight games to Okaloosa Walton College, Gulf Coast Community College, and Tallahassee Community College.
Rigby decided to give this strategy another try on the road against Okaloosa Walton. The second time was unsuccessful as the Lady Pirates lost 68-53. Defensively, they didn’t force many turnovers nor did they defend the perimeter well. The Lady Raiders made 12 three-pointers in the game. Offensively, the Lady Pirates shot poorly and the leading scorer was Victoria Hunt with only 12 points.
The Lady Pirates may have gotten some of their confidence back with their 72-42 home win over North Florida Community College. The game let the PJC bench players have some game experience and coach Rigby may have just found a go-to player in Latoya Thomas, who scored 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
It appears point guard Kristian Diggs, who has been bothered with an ankle injury for most of the year, is beginning to play up to her all-conference capability. Diggs played her best game of the season against Chipola, finishing with 10 points and 7 steals.
Victoria Hunt continues to lead PJC in scoring, averaging 13.4 points per game. After making seven blocks against a bigger Chipola team, Geneshia Dunbar is could be PJC’s best defensive player.
PJC will host three straight home games beginning with North Florida Community College on Jan. 26, Tallahassee on Jan. 30, and Gulf Coast on Feb. 2.