Lakers move into national rankings, close in on conference crown
A relative unknown comes out of nowhere to become a contender.
It’s the kind of story most dream about, yet rarely realize.
The 2022-23 basketball season has been a magical season for the Mid Michigan College women’s basketball team, a season that will be remembered forever going forward.
As it stands the Lady Lakers (22-3) are on the cusp of making history heading into the final week of the regular-season. Numbers-wise the Lakers are 11-0 in conference games and have won 12-straight games heading into Wednesday’s road game at Muskegon Community College.
Moreover, they also recently moved into the National Junior College Athletic Association’s top-25 poll, ranking 20th nationally. With three regular-season games left on the docket the Lakers only need to win once to secure the conference crown, thus they’re in the conference driver’s seat going forward.
For first-year head coach Lance Maney the season has been one he’ll remember forever as it’s been a lot of work and a lot of fun.
“Everything has been clicking and we have continued improving all season,” said Maney. “I knew we were going to be good, a lot of things have gone right for us.”
Mid Michigan College came into the season with a veteran roster, thus experience and leadership were already there. The addition of a couple new faces and a relatively injury-free campaign have also benefitted the Lakers greatly in 2022-23.
Statistically-speaking the Lakers feature one of the most potent offenses in the country as they rank 15th nationally in points per game (76 points), eighth in 3-point field-goal makes per game (8.5), 12th in 3-point field goal percentage (33.7 percent) and 10th in free-throw percentage (71.9 percent). Defensively, they also rank 14th in points-per game allowed (53.4) and 18th in steals per game (12.7). All in all the numbers add up to a successful team and that’s exactly what MMC has been this winter.
The Lakers close the home season out at Morey Courts Saturday when they host Alpena CC at 4 p.m. They then close the regular season out on the road at Bay College on Feb. 28.