When describing what the Sinclair Community College Lady Tartans basketball team can expect with the conference portion of their schedule beginning, head coach Jeff Dillon used two words: more intensity.
“Conference games are always tough,” Dillon said. “These are the teams that you play on a yearly basis, you used to the other teams style of play and they are with yours. It makes for exciting matchups.”
Sinclair is a part of the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) which is made up of a total of eight community colleges in Ohio.
As of Jan. 13, Sinclair has an overall record of 9-3. And played their first conference game against Owens Community College on Jan. 8.
Owens Community College, who is the top ranked team in the conference and ranked No. 5 in national rankings, defeated Sinclair 100-67. Coach Dillon says that although his team had moved on from the loss, they will take the lessons that were learned from the game and build on them during the rest of the season.
“For about the first eight minutes of the game we played up to our potential and we were winning,” Dillon said. “But Owens has a deep roster, they can play their whole team and they won’t lose anything in talent or intensity. Our team learned we have to bring it on every play and we can’t let up, especially in conference play.”
The Lady Tartans next game is against Edison Community College, which Dillon believes will be a good test for his team.
“Edison is always a very disciplined team with a lot of size,” Dillon said. “I want to see how our team responds after the loss and see how we play moving forward.”
Dillon wants to see his team play with the same passion they had in their nine non-conference wins. If they do that, he said he is sure they can play with anyone in the country.
“As long as we play hard and up to our potential I don’t think there is any team that we cant beat,” Dillon said.