Anne Arundel Community College's women's basketball team suffered two losses last week, though only one showed up on its record.
The Pioneers (7-1) fell from the ranks of the unbeaten Saturday when Montgomery-Rockville prevailed, 77-73, despite 28 points, 21 rebounds and three steals from Debbi Dadds. Rockville is No. 6 in the nation among Division III JuCo teams.
Denise Perrone added 13 points and Stephanie Carpenter had eight.
"We turned the ball over too much," said coach Tom Smith, whose team led by five points with less than five minutes remaining. "But the girls really played well in the second half, and have been playing well all season."
Of more concern to Smith is the loss of starting point guard Dara Cohen, who quit the team. She was Anne Arundel's second-leading scorer at nearly 14 points a game.
"We lost a lot when we lost her," Smith said.
Courtney Finch has moved into the starting lineup at point guard, and Perrone also is working there.
Last Thursday, the Pioneers rallied in the second half to defeat Essex, 61-53. The Knights led 32-26 at halftime, but Old Mill graduate Jen Welsh scored 15 of her 17 points over the last 20 minutes.
Welsh also had six rebounds off the bench. She filled in at center for Dadds, who was taking an exam.
Welsh didn't score Saturday, but that's because she didn't get the ball enough, Smith said.
"She has the potential to put points on the board," he said. "I've got to get her more work at [power forward]."
Ginger Breneman added 15 points against Essex, and Jen Shanahan, who started for Dadds, had 10 points and 14 rebounds.
"Jen has been doing a very good job," Smith said.
Anne Arundel is off until next month.
Men's basketball
Anne Arundel enters the Christmas break with a 2-6 record after Saturday's 89-75 loss at Chesapeake.
Coach Mike Tummings' squad was outscored 22-7 over the last 7:50.
Sylvester Clarke led the Pioneers with 17 points. He is averaging 11 rebounds, which is second in the state among junior colleges, despite being 5-10.
"He's got one of the quickest players I've ever seen at getting off the ground," Tummings said. "He's so quick that taller people don't get a chance to react."
Tummings said the team isn't playing well now, "but we'll try to work hard over the break and bounce back. I feel we'll get it together. We're a better team than our record indicates. We've just got to make some adjustments."
He'll see if the extra work paid off when Anne Arundel, loser of five in a row, meets Cecil on Jan. 4 in Arnold.