GAME 1 Huron Lakers 44 vs. Barrie Royals 29

 

The girls had an early morning game facing the Barrie Royals at 8:30 Saturday morning.  The girls played very tight defense and were able to the scores very close.  After half time, the Lakers were leading by only one basket with a score of 17-15.  In the 5^th period, the Lakers were able to shut down the Barrie offense allowing them only 4 points this period.  The Lakers, on the other hand put away 13 points, with Madison Neilson hot on her shot, scoring 6.  The girls never looked back after that and ended up with the win with a final score of 44 to 29.  Scoring for the Lakers, was Madison Neilson with 16 points, Kierstynn Pettit with 6 points, both Kristi Pugsley and Caroline Hummell chipped in with 5 points a piece.  Caroline was on her mark at the foul line sinking 3 for 4.  Both Mackenzie Turner and Lexi McShea found the net sinking 4 points each, rounding out the score with 2 apiece were Danielle Graham and Paige Tucker.

 

GAME 2 Huron Lakers 35 vs. Blessed Sacrament 45

 

The Lakers, currently seeded 6^th in the Province were up against the tournament hosts, Blessed Sacrament, who are currently ranked 2^nd.  The girls played a very tight back and forth game and at half time they were tied with 17 points a piece.  Kierstynn Pettit and Melissa Blair played their typical aggressive style game stealing the ball several times throughout their play.  In the 7^th period, Blessed came away with the lead, leading by 7 points and the girls finished out the remainder of play behind by 10 points.  Scoring for the Lakers was Madison Neilson and Caroline Hummell with 8 points each.  Mackenzie Turner added 6 points sinking 2 for 2 at the foul line.  Kristi Pugsley added 4, Allison Deery with 3 and all contributing 2 points a piece, were Danielle Graham, Kierstynn Pettit and Lexi McShea.

 

GAME 3 Huron Lakers 36 vs. Tecumseh Saints 24      

 

The girls needed to win this game to make it to the semi-finals on Sunday.  The girls played well, it was kept to a very low shooting game, which meant our defensive play was key in shutting down the Saints.  Danielle, Kierstynn, Paige, Mackenzie, Caroline & Lexi came away with many of the rebounds nearly doubling the Saints in rebounds.  Emily Schaefer had an outstanding defensive game and was all over the ball.  After 8 periods of play, the Lakers ended up with the win beating Tecumseh by 12 points.  Leading the way with 17 points was Caroline Hummell, Madison Neilson connected for 7 points, both Kierstynn Pettit and Allison Deery added 4 points and Melissa Blair and Lexi McShea added 2 each.  Now off to the semi-finals… 

 

GAME 4 SEMI-FINAL Huron Lakers 35 vs. Guelph CYO 36

 

This game proved to be a very challenging and intense game for the girls.  After 4 periods of play, our girls were down by only 3 points by a score of 19 to 16.  During half time, the girls received a very motivational speech from their coaches and were told that they needed to shut down the Guelph offense and pull ahead, capitalizing on all their shots.  Well, they did just that, in the 5^th period, the girls were able to hold Guelph to 19 points and they put away 9 points to lead 25 to 19.  After 7 periods of play, the two teams were tied 33-33.  With one of our “two twin towers” having fouled out, we were faced with a challenge. The eighth period proved to be very suspenseful, the two teams rallied back & forth.  The girls had an opportunity to come ahead when Melissa Blair took a jump shot just inside the key which bobbled off both sides of the rim with 13 seconds left.  The girls fought for the ball and got possession and with only 6 seconds remaining, the Lakers called a time out.  The play was set; Madison would inbound to Mackenzie who would then look for Kierstynn under the left side of the net.  The play worked nearly flawlessly, the ball hit the rim and popped back out, time had run out.  Scoring for the Lakers were Caroline Hummell with 12 points, Madison Neilson with 9 points, Paige Tucker sinking 6 points, Lexi McShea with 5 points, Allison Deery with a basket and Mackenzie Turner adding one at the foul line.  The girls would now go on to the bronze medal game against Burlington.

 

GAME 5 BRONZE MEDAL Huron Lakers 32 vs. Burlington Panthers 45

 

The Lakers were up against some tough competition in this game.  They worked hard as a team, but could not come away with a lead throughout the game.  After half time, the girls were down by a score of 14 to 27.  The Burlington team got hot in the second half and the Lakers had to contend with some strong outside shooting and their fast break was quite strong.  Both Madison Neilson and Caroline Hummell led the offense with 9 followed by Mackenzie Turner with 5, Kierstynn Pettit with 4, Paige Tucker & Melissa Blair with 2 a piece and Lexi McShea sinking 1 for 2 at the foul line.  

 

The girls came away with a 4^th place medal and the coaching staff were very proud of how the girls handled themselves this past weekend.  After playing and competing so well against the top seeded teams in the province, the girls are right at the cusp of moving up to the next level.  The girls should be in prime shape for the Ontario Cup Championships in Windsor on March 28-30.