Lady Corsairs Cagers Looking for Consistency as They Take On Pierce

Coach Barbara Hayes’ mid-season advice to her Santa Monica College women’s basketball team is “be consistent and execute” as the squad enters second-round play in the Metropolitan Conference, facing Pierce College at 7 tonight at Pierce and playing at El Camino at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The Lady Corsairs (16-3, 4-1 in Metro), rated 10th in the state by the J. C. Athletic Bureau, share first place in the league with Long Beach (13-6, 4-1), rated ninth in the state, to whom they lost, 56-55, last week.

The Corsairs beat Pierce (0-16, 0-5) in their Metro opener, 75-28, and defeated El Camino (5-13, 2-4), 85-55. El Camino is led by point guard Sylvia Bauer, who is averaging 18 points a game.

Guard Gibran Bowden leads the Corsairs (18.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.6 steals), followed by forward Valerie Vermeer (17.8 points, 9 rebounds, 4.4 assists). Forward Gisselle Bowden, Gibran’s sister, paces the team in rebounds (averaging 15) and is averaging 12.6 points. Forward Tracey Lucas is averaging 5.3 steals.

The Corsairs are shooting 41% from the floor and 48.5% from the line.