Lakeside girls look to finish their season strong
Lakeside's girls basketball team has seen the best that its region has to offer, and it's ready for a second chance after beating Evans 51-32 Friday.
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The Panthers lost by at least 20 points to each of the top three teams in their region. But Lakeside is young and coach Maureen McCormack wants to see how her team will react as it finishes the season.
"They're doing all the right things," McCormack said.
She said Harlem and Butler have separated themselves from the rest of the region, with Hephzibah not far behind. The Panthers played Harlem for the second time Tuesday and will play the other top teams before the season ends.
Lakeside might be a long-shot to grab one of the region's playoff spots but McCormack said she's anxious to see how her team responds to the second half of its region schedule.
"It's going to be who can make their adjustments the second time around and help their team either maintain what they did that first time or take that extra step," McCormack said. "I think we feel pretty good about being competitive, but we've got to show everybody we can beat them."
McCormack's team proved it can beat Evans.
The Panthers started Friday's game on a 7-0 run and held the Knights without a field goal until midway through the second quarter. The Knights pulled within 4 less than a minute into the second half, but could get no closer.
"The first time we played them, they shot lights out," Evans coach Timothy Whitfield said. "Defensively, we made them work a little harder."
Lakeside harassed the Knights, as well. McCormack said she would like to press the entire game to help offset her small lineup, but she settles for running pressure in intervals to maintain fresh legs.
In addition to the lack of depth, McCormack is having to ask a lot of her younger players. Kathleen Early is the Panthers' lone senior starter. McCormack's underclassmen see a lot of playing time.
"They're the ones I'm counting on, and they're learning how to do it," she said.