Locked in a low-scoring affair with Camden Fairview in the first round of the 5A-South conference tournament, Lakeside's senior girls used a late run to punch their ticket to the semifinals.
Trailing 36-34 with four minutes remaining, Lakeside coach Chris Brock called a timeout to give his team a chance to regroup. The results came instantly as the Lady Rams (19-8) rode an 11-2 run to pull away for a 45-40 win at Trojan Fieldhouse.
"I just talked to them about making sure the ball switched sides of the floor, and then seeing what they had," Brock said. "Before that, I think we were trying to force action too early. I really wanted us to be aggressive, but I thought we were being aggressive too early. We were just trying to get it and go, because we wanted to be ahead so bad. We did want to be aggressive and get to the free throw line, but we wanted to do it after we played offense."
Lakeside built an early lead on the strength of its defense. As guards Ashton Patrick and Thea Rice combined for 10 points, the Lady Rams held a 12-6 advantage at the end of the first quarter, limiting Fairview (11-14) to just one field goal in the process.
A 3-pointer by sophomore Chloe Porter stretched Lakeside's lead to 15-6 early in the second period before the Lady Cardinals came to life. Junior guard Jayla Jackson buried two shots from behind the arc during a 12-3 run as Fairview knotted the score at 18-18 in the final minute of the second quarter.
After two free throws from Rice, the Lady Cardinals scorer the last four points of the period for a 22-20 halftime lead.
"I would have liked to see what would have happened if we had pushed it to double digits," said Brock. "I thought at that point, we were really controlling the game before they went on their run. We were trying to change defenses and bother them, but I was proud of our kids. A lot of the second and third quarter was in their favor, but they did a good job of battling through it."
Patrick and Fairview's Alijah Evans traded 3-pointers to open the third quarter and Patrick followed with a layup to tie the game at 27-27 with 3:20 remaining. The Lady Cardinals closed the quarter with four straight points from the free throw line to take a 33-30 lead into the final frame.
A basket by Jhiya Jefferson gave Fairview its 36-34 advantage, but Patrick would not be denied down the stretch. The junior guard scored seven points during Lakeside's 11-2 run, later finishing with a game-high 16 points.
"I'm just super impressed by the fact that she did it when she had to do it," Brock said. "It wasn't going to be an easy time to do it. It was going to be a time when players have to make plays. Nothing was easy for us, but she attacked the basket and made it happen. We talk about competitive level a lot, and I thought hers really showed tonight."
Rice scored 12 points for Lakeside and Porter added eight points. Jackson paced the Lady Cardinals with 10 points, while senior Christina Gibbs had seven points.
Having secured a berth in the Class 5A state tournament at Maumelle, the Lady Rams will face two-time defending state champion Watson Chapel (24-3) in the semifinals at 4 p.m. Thursday.
"We've got nothing to lose against them," said Brock. "We know how good they are and we know what their record is. For us, it's going to be about execution and competitive level. We know how talented they are, so we just want to play the best we can play. That's going to be our goal."
Sports on 02/21/2018