Published: January 31, 2008 11:02 am         

ACM women roll past Harford, 87-32

CUMBERLAND - Number 13 wasn't unlucky for the Allegany College women's basketball team as the nationally-ranked Trojans stormed past Harford, 87-32, Wednesday evening at Bob Kirk Arena.

The victory was the 13th in a row for coach Jerry Rice's team, which is No. 18 in this week's NJCAA Division II national rankings.

The Trojans (17-1 overall, 9-1 Maryland JUCO) built a comfortable lead early and kept it all night in beating Harford.

Eleven players scored and five reached double figures. Lindsay Holliday had 13 points, Melissa Ford and Lisa Byer 12, and Jasmine Blanks and Jennifer Wills 10. DeeDee Reese added nine and Courtney Crislip eight.

Shannon Washington led with 11 rebounds, and Alicia Shepherd was high with nine assists. Blanks had seven assists and six rebounds, Kacey Kahl five rebounds and three steals, Reese five assists, and Crislip four steals.

Allegany, No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense allowing 43.3 points per game, lowered that mark by giving up only 32, including 12 in the first half.

"We played a very consistent game, and got off to a pretty big lead early which was good to see because we haven't been playing well early in games,'' said Rice. "Chesapeake had great size, but we battled hard on the boards, and our defensive pressure, especially with our guards, was just too great for them."

Allegany's only loss came early in the season, 61-58, to Hagerstown, which is ranked No. 7 nationally. The two teams meet again Feb. 8 at Bob Kirk Arena.

The Trojans' next game is Saturday at Baltimore City at 2 p.m.