Lakeland’s run ends
BOISE – Lakeland’s string of playing for a state trophy seven straight years toppled onto a large heap of missed shots Friday afternoon.
Faulty shooting and foul trouble besieged the Hawks as Bishop Kelly eliminated Lakeland 45-29 in a State 4A girls basketball tournament loser-out game at Timberline High School.
The Hawks (10-13) shot 20 percent from the field, making just 12 of 59 attempts. They couldn’t take advantage of 32 turnovers by Bishop Kelly (18-6). The Knights’ miscues allowed Lakeland to take 16 more shots.
Compounding matters for Lakeland was the fact that senior point guard Natalie Nichols got into foul trouble in the first half. She played just 6 minutes in the opening two quarters.
Nichols almost got through the third quarter without committing a foul. But with 17 seconds remaining in the period, just moments after she tumbled after being slightly undercut while making a layup, she was called for her fourth foul.
Lakeland coach Steve Seymour kept Nichols on the bench until the 6:17 mark of the fourth quarter. But BK was well on its way to securing the win at that point, leading 31-20.
Nichols scored seven of her team-high 13 points thereafter.
Stefanie Loisate hit a 3-pointer to extend the Knights’ lead to 36-20 with 5:12 to go. Lakeland twice trimmed the lead to 12 but couldn’t get any closer.
“We had foul trouble most of the tournament and anytime Natalie’s got to sit for the better part of a quarter we’re probably going to struggle,” Seymour said.
Still, Lakeland had plenty of shots. But the Hawks went long stretches between baskets, particularly in the first half when they finished with just 10 points.
“It’s not the first time we’ve struggled offensively, but if we could have got a few more of those shots to drop ….”
When the shorter Hawks drove into the key, they were met by 6-foot post Nicole Bruce, who swatted away four shots but influenced many misses. She finished with a game-high 15 rebounds.
“We wanted to go at her,” Seymour said. “She ended up in foul trouble, but it was almost a little too late and it wasn’t until she already blocked quite a few shots. It was difficult getting anything going in the middle. Their (man-to-man) defense was pretty effective at just kind of clogging everything up.”
Despite his team finishing less than .500, Seymour praised the Hawks.
“This team battled hard and made it to the state tournament,” Seymour said. “They played really well (Thursday). They had an opportunity to win a game. There certainly weren’t any weak teams here. So we had to play really well in order to advance. We just had a few things we struggled with today.”