Lady Knights knock off VU on Zinnerman’s free throws

January 18, 2008 at 9:57 am | In Games

By Justin Hatten
Published: Thursday, January 17, 2008 3:20 PM CST

OCC freshman forward Jazmin Zinnerman has a knack for hitting game-winning free throws.

For the second time this season, Zinnerman’s clutch performance at the charity stripe put the Lady Knights in the win column as OCC edged the host Vincennes Lady Trailblazers Monday night 80-79.

The victory over their neighbors to the east snapped the Lady Knights’ five-game losing streak and moved them to 6-11 overall. Vincennes dropped to 11-6 on the year.

With OCC trailing 79-78, Zinnerman got fouled following an offensive sequence that saw the Lady Knights snag four offensive rebounds to keep the possession alive.

The 5’9” freshman out of Indianapolis walked to the free-throw line with 5.5 ticks left on the clock and tickled the twine on both attempts, avenging an 81-59 loss OCC suffered at the hands of the Lady Trailblazers November 29 at the Vincennes SODEXHO Tournament.

“Jaz stepped up and nailed them both,” OCC head coach Darleta Helm said. “It was a total team effort. I think we’re finally finding our groove and hopefully this will spur us to some consistency.”

Zinnerman finished with a career-high 21 points to go with nine rebounds, five steals and four assists. Her free throw back on November 16 gave OCC a 67-66 win over South Suburban College of Chicago at the Highland Tournament in Freeport.

The Lady Knights won the tourney one night later, beating Highland 73-67.

Freshman center Kendra Reynolds pumped in a game-high 34 points Monday. Reynolds, a native of South Bend Ind., knocked down four three-pointers, grabbed 11 boards and dished out six assists for the Lady Knights, who trailed by as much as 11 in the second half.

“We just hung in there and kept fighting,” Helm said. “We kept telling our kids we’re right there, we just need to break through.”

Sophomore guard Tatjana Smith added 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.

“All 11 of her points were at key times,” Helm said.

Sophomore guard Dymon Rondo, sister of Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo, paced Vincennes with 20 points, 15 of which came in the first half.

Sophomore center Loredana Catanoiu tacked on 17 points and freshman forward Makeba Head chipped in 14.

OCC shot 50 percent from the field (26-of-52) and 77 percent from the charity stripe (10-of-13). The Lady Knights pulled down 27 boards, distributed 25 assists and committed 13 turnovers as a team.

OCC scoring - Kendra Reynolds, 34; Jazmin Zinnerman, 21; Tatjana Smith, 11; Candice Jones, 5; Danielle Lammert, 5; Jasmine Grubbs, 2; Whitney Sanders, 2.

Vincennes scoring - Dymon Rondo, 20; Loredana Catanoiu, 17; Makeba Head, 14; Courtney Dixon, 12; Elisa Silva, 9; Katherine Ahaus, 4; Rebecca Tracy, 3.

Lady Knights win one at Vincennes

December 7, 2007 at 9:20 am | In Games

By Justin Hatten
Published: Thursday, December 6, 2007 3:08 PM CST
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The OCC Lady Blue Knights went 1-2 last weekend at the Vincennes (Ind.) SODEXHO Tournament.

The Lady Knights (5-6 overall) opened play Thursday night with an 81-59 loss to the host Lady Trailblazers before bouncing back to hammer Chicago’s Malcolm X College 106-49 Friday.

OCC concluded the Vincennes tourney Saturday afternoon with an 81-74 setback at the hands of nationally ranked Jefferson College, of Hillsboro, Mo.

“I think the trip was real good for us,” Lady Knights head coach Darleta Helm said. “We always get good competition over there and we made a lot of strides as far as improving as a team. We played really, really well against Malcolm X.”

Freshman center Kendra Reynolds averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game for the Lady Knights.

The South Bend, Ind., product tied her career-high with a 34-point outburst against Jefferson.

“Kendra gets into a flow and is hard to stop,” Helm said. “She had 10 rebounds against Jefferson, which I was also proud of.”

Vincennes University 81, OCC 59

The Lady Knights couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean against Vincennes, shooting just 31 percent from the field (15-of-48), including 5-of-30 from three-point land (16 percent).

They were 12-of-14 from the free-throw line (86 percent). OCC committed 17 turnovers and trailed 44-27 at the half.

The Lady Knights pulled down 36 rebounds as a team (22 defensive and 14 offensive).

“Nobody was pleased with our performance Thursday,” Helm said. “I thought we did a good job the rest of the weekend.”

Reynolds paced OCC with 14 points and eight boards (four offensive). Sophomore guard Tatjana Smith added 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.

East Richland High School graduate Charlene Rose buried a pair of threes and finished with eight points. Sophomore guard Candice Jones tacked on seven points and six rebounds.

Sophomore center Loredana Catanoiu, a native of Romania, pumped in 19 points to lead the Lady Trailblazers. Freshman forwards Makeba Head and Courtney Dixon netted 17 points each.

OCC scoring - Kendra Reynolds, 14; Tatjana Smith, 11; Charlene Rose, 8; Candice Jones, 7; Whitney McClellan, 5; Jasmine Grubbs, 4; Jazmin Zinnerman, 4; Latiea Gilbert, 2; Danielle Lammert, 2; Krystal Lawalin, 2.

OCC 106, Malcolm X College 49

Fresh off one of their worst shooting performances of the season, the Lady Knights had one of their best as they cracked the century mark in a 57-point throttling of Malcolm X. OCC was up 52-25 at the half.

The Lady Knights shot a blazing 73 percent from the floor (35-of-48) and grabbed 42 boards (30 defensive and 12 offensive).

OCC turned over the rock just eight times and went 9-of-13 from the charity stripe (69 percent).

All 12 Lady Knights scored as five players reached double figures. Jones led the way with a game-high 21 points to go with four rebounds and two assists.

Sophomore Krystal Lawalin poured in a season-high 16 points and was 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. The 5′10” forward from Tell City, Ind., also ripped down eight boards.

“Krystal was really a bright spot for us,” Helm said.

Reynolds chipped in 12 points and six rebounds. She went 4-of-4 from the foul line.

Sophomore forward Danielle Lammert added 11 points, including nine from behind the arc, to go with three rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Sophomore gunner Whitney McWilliams drilled two three-pointers and finished with 10 points. She distributed three assists as well.

Sophomore point guard Latiea Gilbert dished out a game-high eight assists. Rose, Smith and freshman forward Jazmin Zinnerman swiped two steals apiece.

Zinnerman added eight points and three offensive boards.

OCC scoring - Candice Jones, 21; Krystal Lawalin, 16; Kendra Reynolds, 12; Danielle Lammert, 11; Whitney McWilliams, 10; Jazmin Zinnerman, 8; Tatjana Smith, 7; Charlene Rose, 6; Whitney Sanders, 6; Latiea Gilbert, 4; Whitney McClellan, 3; Jasmine Grubbs, 2.

Jefferson College 81, OCC 74

Three weeks after falling to the 14th-ranked Lady Vikings 79-56 at the Jefferson College Tournament, the Lady Knights made sure it was a different story this time around.

Despite the seven-point setback, Helm was proud of her squad.

“It was probably our best performance so far,” Helm said of the loss to Jefferson. “We played 40 minutes of basketball and the kids gave it their all.”

Not only are the Lady Vikings 11-1 overall, but they also possess the nation’s leading scorer in 6′2” freshman guard Danielle Adams (25.7 ppg).

Adams, who lit up OCC for 30 points, was named NJCAA Division I Co-Player of the Week on November 28.

Reynolds proved she’s also one of the best freshmen in the Midwest, dazzling fans with her 34-point, 10-rebound effort.

Zinnerman had a marvelous all-around game as well with 14 points, 14 boards and five assists.

“Jazmin was solid,” Helm said.

Smith tacked on 11 points and three assists.

Lady Knights Struggle in Home Opener

November 28, 2007 at 9:38 am | In Games

By Justin Hatten
Published: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 4:56 PM CST

Three weeks into their 2007-08 basketball season, the OCC Lady Blue Knights finally got to play in front of the home crowd Saturday afternoon.

However, the outcome wasn’t what they hoped for.

The Lady Knights’ shooting was as frigid as the air outside in a 71-59 loss to Mineral Area College at the Dungeon. OCC (3-4 overall) made just 15-of-41 field-goal attempts (36 percent), including 3-of-15 from three-point range (20 percent).

Turnovers plagued the Lady Knights as they committed 12 of their 17 in the first half. The visitors from Park Hills, Mo., capitalized on the miscues, taking a 37-22 lead into the break.

“We started off extremely slow and couldn’t get into a rhythm,” OCC head coach Darleta Helm said. “Mineral Area’s a good team and we had some defensive letdowns. We were just a step or two off all day.”

The Lady Knights didn’t do themselves any favors at the charity stripe either, going 20-of-35 (57 percent). Mineral Area knocked down 18-of-29 freebies (62 percent).

“We missed way too many free throws and I know the kids were upset about that,” Helm said.

Freshman center Kendra Reynolds led the Lady Knights with a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds. Reynolds was 6-of-8 from the foul line.

The South Bend, Ind., product has been unstoppable as of late, averaging 26.3 points per game over her last three contests.

Sophomore guard Tatjana Smith joined Reynolds in double figures with 13 points. Smith dished out four assists as well.

Tell City, Ind., native Krystal Lawalin added seven points and five boards, including three on the offensive end.

Sophomore guard Candice Jones and freshman forward Jazmin Zinnerman chipped in six points and four rebounds apiece. Jones also collected two assists and two steals.

Sophomore guard Latiea Gilbert had four points, four boards and two steals in a losing effort.

Sophomore center Lesley Adams paced Mineral Area (5-3) with 20 points. Australian center Caitlin Shadbolt tacked on 14 points.

The Lady Knights open Vincennes (Ind.) SODEXHO Tournament play at 7 p.m. Thursday (Illinois time) against the host Lady Trailblazers.

OCC scoring - Kendra Reynolds, 21; Tatjana Smith, 13; Krystal Lawalin, 7; Candice Jones, 6; Jazmin Zinnerman, 6; Latiea Gilbert, 4; Jasmine Grubbs, 2.

Mineral Area scoring - Lesley Adams, 20; Caitlin Shadbolt, 14; Leandra Sands, 12; Sherry Glennie, 10; LaShayla Bell, 5; Cobi Wires, 5; Laurie Bell, 2; Sarah Fraser-Jones, 2; Briley Milfeld, 1.

News and notes: The Lady Knights picked up a forfeit victory Wednesday over the Missouri Baptist University junior-varsity squad of St. Louis. Missouri Baptist had a rash of injuries that kept them from fielding a full team, thus handing OCC its third win of the year.