Lakers put scare into top ranked girls team

BY STAN MADDUX

The La Lumiere School girls’ basketball team leading late in the second quarter lost to No. 1 ranked South Bend Washington over the weekend.

McDonald’s All American, Ashlynn Shade, had 16 of the Lakers first 21 points in the first half.

However, the Panthers trailing by two points scored the last nine points during the final 90 seconds of the second quarter to go into halftime leading 28-21.

South Bend Washington continued to pour it on in the third quarter for a 21 point advantage going into the final period.

The momentum changed drastically after the undefeated Panthers began double teaming Shade, who was held to just nine second half points.

The Panthers also forced a lot of turnovers leading to points in the second half by putting more pressure on the ball when it was in the hands of other Lakers players.

La Lumiere outscored the Panthers by five points in the fourth quarter in the 60-44 loss.

Head Coach Matt Marvin said he wasn’t surprised about the run from the Panthers, who seemed to surge in the second quarter and early in the third quarter in all of their previous games this season.

“We blinked and the next thing I knew it was 40-23,” he said.

Marvin said his players also put up and missed too many three point shots instead of trying to work the ball for a better shot against the defensive pressure.

“Washington is really, really good,” he said.

The Panthers are also ranked No. 7 in the nation.

Marvin said he congratulated his players for giving 100-percent against one of the best teams in the nation before a packed home crowd.

“I don’t believe in moral victories, but I’m really, really proud of how they conducted themselves and left it all out there until the end,” he said.