The Lakeside Lady Rams opened the Chartwells Spa City Shootout in style Wednesday night.
Facing Brinkley in the first round, the Lady Rams built a commanding 33-12 halftime lead before cruising to a 52-20 win at Bank of the Ozarks Arena.
"We just tried to keep the ball where we wanted to have the ball," Lakeside coach Chris Brock said. "We kind of knew what they were going to try to do, and we tried to extend the pressure a little bit more. They had one primary ball-handler, so we tried to pressure her and get her to get rid of it. Once she got rid of it, we were able to force the other ones into some bad decisions."
Improving to 9-2 on the season, the Lady Rams will face Sylvan Hills in the second round at 4 p.m. today. Sylvan Hills opped Fordyce 58-48 earlier in the day.
Leading 33-12, Lakeside broke the game open in the third quarter on the strength of its defense. After a quick basket by Brinkley's Kennedy Reinhart, the Lady Rams closed the third period on a 15-0 run to stretch their lead to 48-14, junior Ashton Patrick leading the way with eight points.
"I told them it was 0-0 to start the second half and we were really prepping for tomorrow," said Brock. "We knew we were going to play a really good opponent tomorrow, so I told them to get their legs and get their shots right.
"I didn't want to let up at all, and they were able to make some shots and keep doing what we were doing. I thought the third quarter was good for us, because they pressed us and did some things that we'll see tomorrow night."
With the mercy rule and running clock enacted, Lakeside coasted to victory in the fourth quarter. Charity Courtney and Yvonne Rodriguez each scored two points for the Lady Rams, while Brinkley scored just six points, missing all five of its attempts from the free throw line.
Brock said he believed his team's performance can give them momentum for the rest of the tournament, as well as the second half of the season.
"We really feel like conditioning is a key for us in every game," Brock said. "What we want out of this tournament is to make sure we're in the best shape we can be in for next week, getting back into our conference schedule. We want to be ready to outrun everybody, and get into the groove of making some shots."
Behind five points from Patrick and four points from sophomore Abby Mahoney, the Lady Rams opened the game on an 11-2 run and held a 13-5 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Reinhart scored three points for the Lady Tigers.
Patrick buried a 3-pointer and knocked down two free throws as part of an 8-0 Lakeside run to open the second period. The junior finished with a game-high 23 points, all in the first three quarters.
"We just want her to be aggressive," said Brock. "Whether that's shooting or attacking off the break, when she's aggressive, it opens everything else up for us."
Brinkley pulled within 23-9 midway through the second quarter, but sophomore Chloe Porter scored seven points as Lakeside closed the frame on a 10-3 run for a 33-12 advantage at the half.
Porter finished with 11 points, while Mahoney scored seven points and Belle Nielson scored four points for the Lady Rams. Reinhart paced the Lady Tigers with nine points.
"I thought all of our post girls played big games," Brock said. "I thought Belle, Miller (Dickerson) and Abby all got big offensive rebounds that kept the ball alive a lot. Our wings were getting a lot of good looks, but our post girls were doing the dirty work and doing a good job inside."
Brinkley will face Fordyce in the consolation bracket at 10 a.m. today.
Sports on 12/28/2017