Injury Returns Help the Chargers Maintain a Perfect Home Record
It was Charger Country Night at Edison State Community College on January 10, 2024, their alumni and friends celebration night. The Chargers would defend their perfect 4-0 home record against conference rival Hocking College.
Article by Rob K. Winkle, Jr., B.A. | Photos by Reflections by Rob, LLC
It was Charger Country Night at Edison State Community College on January 10, 2024, their alumni and friends celebration night. The Chargers would defend their perfect 4-0 home record against Ohio Community College Athletic Association (OCCAC) rival Hocking College. The Chargers would not only celebrate their alumni on this night but also the return of two injured players to the court, Sophomore Makenzee Maschino (Troy HS) returning from a knee injury and Sophomore Paxton Hunley (Miami East HS) returning from an ankle/foot injury suffered in their last game on December 19 against Schoolcraft College (MI).
The Chargers would excel on all sides of the ball with a stingy and staunch defense, productive, rapid-scoring offense, and gritty rebound and jump-ball battles, which would all contribute to their success. Maschino was a force on the defensive side of the ball and, though final statistics were not available at press time, was productive on all sides in a successful return.
Paxton Hunley (Miami East HS) was the night's leading scorer with 17 points and did her part on ball distribution, defense, and boards. Hunley showed no ill effects from the foot/ankle injury that forced her to leave the court with assistance on December 19, 2023. Matea Bartel was 2nd in scoring with 14 points.
The Chargers would trail early by 6 to end the first quarter 16-10, 1 at the half 22 to 21, but after half time, it would be all electricity from the home team and no looking back. They would take the lead with a blistering onslaught, but Hocking would also battle back, leaving the score at 43-41 Chargers with 9:01 left to play. The leadership of their four-time OCCAC players of the week this season: Allison Hughes (x2), Abby Yukon, Matea Bartel, which account for 33 of the Chargers' total points (Bartel 14, Yukon 11, Hughes 8). Combined with Hunley and Maschino's fiery returns, it was too much for the Hocking Hawks to overcome. Yukon was high on the scoring charts, Hughes was dominant on boards, leading the team with 16, and this was a solid team effort by the Chargers to maintain a 5-0 record at home with a final score of 59-48.
The Chargers improve their overall season record to 12-4 (2-1 OCCAC), placing them third in the OCCAC, with second place Terra State coming to town on Saturday, January 13 at 3:00 p.m. at Edison State. The Lady Chargers are also in conference action on Wednesday, January 17th, at home against Owens CC at 5:30 p.m. at Edison State's Piqua Campus.
Support the Edison State Chargers Women's and Men's teams on January 13, 2023, and January 17, 2023, in OCCAC action. Including those two games, the women have ten games remaining in the regular season, 9 of which are OCCAC contests. At this point, they control their destiny in their conference.
