The Lakers senior girls team improved to 2-1 in Okanagan Valley 3A play with a 75-46 victory over the Rutland Voodoo at home Tuesday.
Lakers coach Dustin Hyde said the opening half was “awful” even with his team getting on an 11-0 run to start. They allowed the Voodoo back in with a 9-0 run of their own.
“We showed little to no intensity in the first half and played sloppy and half-hearted. It was frustrating,” said Hyde. “We did have a much better second half and ended up pulling away towards the end of the third quarter.”
Lyndzie Caron had what Hyde described as a monster game with 27 points, 23 rebounds, shooting 54 per cent from the field, 100 per cent from the line, and added four assists, five steals and drained two three-point shots. Annick Cole also played very well and has started to find her form from long range. Cole collected 14 points, nine from three-point range and had four steals.
“The focus moving forward is playing with intensity and developing that killer instinct that great teams have,” said Hyde. “We have a solid group that I believe can compete with the top teams in the province. It’s just a matter of girls finding their rhythm, their confidence, understand their roles and most importantly develop a collective killer instinct with a winning attitude.”
On Dec. 8, the Lakers played in Salmon Arm against the Jewels and won 60-35. Caron led with 16 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three assists.
READ MORE:VIDEO: Lakers senior basketball teams split with Bears
Senior boys keep winning
The Lakers improved to 2-0 with a 70-66 win over the Rutland Voodoo.
Lakers coach Colin Cook said his team had a fantastic start leading 18-2. At half time they were up 45-29. Riley Holt led a balanced attack with 18 points, while Jake Stokker collected 15 and Spencer Finlayson had 13.
“The boys were very unselfish and did a good of taking care of the basketball,” said Cook. “In the second half Rutland increased the defensive pressure and we started to turn the ball over.”
The Lakers and Mustangs are co-hosting a Christmas Classic, which began Thursday. The Lakers open against SESS at 10 a.m. at Pen High.
In the tournament, Cook wants his team reduce its turnovers and do a better job on perimeter defence. They opened with a win over Similkameen Secondary on Thursday. The Lakers next game is Friday at 10:15 a.m. at Pen High.
Christmas Classic Senior Boys Basketball Draw 2016 by Emanuel Sequeira on Scribd