HITTING THE DECK — Lake Region defenders Kelsey Winslow (left) and CeCe Hancock try to come up with a steal against Falmouth last week. (Rivet Photo)
LAKERS 59
C. Hancock 4-3-14, Tiana-Jo Carter 5-0-10, Miranda Chadboure 1-0-2, Kate Cuttting 1-0-3, Kayleigh Lepage 1-0-2, Sydney Hancock 1-5-7, Kelsey Winslow 9-3-21.
Turnovers: 17. FT 13-22.
Leading rebounders: Chadbourne 5, Winslow 7, Carter 12.
3-Pointers: C. Hancock 3, Cutting 1.
FALMOUTH 38
Ally Hickey 8-1-21, Anna Hickey 3-1-9, Emma Powers 2-0-4, Dayna Vasconcelos 1-2-4.
Turnovers: 29. FT 4-8.
Rebounds: Ally Hickey 7, Anna Hickey 4.
3-Pointers: Al. Hickey 4, An. Hickey 2.

By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

When Ally Hickey scored 11 of Falmouth’s first 14 points, Lake Region coach Paul True had seen enough.

His answer: senior forward Kelsey Winslow.

Not only did Winslow quiet the Yachtsman forward — she had only two field goals over the next 16 minutes — she had an electric offensive game herself.

Winslow scored 21 points and collected 7 rebounds as the Lakers thumped Falmouth 59-38 at Nutting Gym last Thursday night.

Hickey finished with 21 points, but Lake Region’s full-court pressure created 29 turnovers, including three 5-second calls as Falmouth failed to get the ball inbounds after LR baskets.

“The Hickey girl is a good perimeter shooter and she can go to the rim. I think Kelsey’s length and quickness bothered her a little bit,” Coach True said. “Kelsey

has the best attitude, and works her tail off every single day. When I see her play like she did tonight, it just makes me so happy.”

Victories over York and Falmouth propelled the Lakers back into the top spot in Class B West, improving to 9-1.

Behind a CeCe Hancock 3-pointer, the Lakers started quick, opening a 10-2 lead. But, Hickey caught fire, connecting on three straight hoops, including a trey. She added another 3-pointer in the closing seconds to close the gap to 15-14, but Hancock scored on a fastbreak lay-up (she had 8 in the quarter) to make it 17-14 after one.

LR turned up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, causing 10 turnovers to take a 31-23 lead at halftime. With the score 19-19, the Lakers closed out the final five minutes with a 12-4 run keyed by two Winslow inside hoops and a 3-pointer by Kate Cutting.

“Our full-court pressure played a big part in this game. I wasn’t overwhelmed with our half-court defensive sets. We were undisciplined and people were running right by us. Once we started to play baseline to baseline, we forced a lot of turnovers and got into the flow of the game better,” Coach True said. “I thought the kids coming off the bench really contributed tonight, and they maintained our defensive ball pressure.”

Winslow dominated the offensive end in the third quarter, scoring 10 of the Lakers’ 12 points. With a quick first step burst, Winslow seemingly beat her defender each time she touched the ball as the LR lead ballooned to 43-29.

Meanwhile, Hickey really cooled off, scoring her only bucket of the third quarter with under a minute left.

With CeCe Hancock draining another trey and Sydney Hancock taking the ball strong to the hoop (she was 4-for-4 from the foul line), the Lakers cruised to their ninth win. After early struggles at the foul line (4-of-12 in the first half), the Lakers were on the mark over the final 16 minutes, sinking 9-of-10.

“When CeCe, Syd and Katherine are feeling it from the perimeter, we are really difficult to guard,” Coach True said.

Another bright spot was senior Sydney Hancock, who continues to show signs that she is returning to old form after battling a leg injury.

“What I saw Syd do tonight that I haven’t seen this season is her getting into the teeth of the defense and penetrating. Her confidence is growing,” Coach True said. “She is our floor leader and has made some great decisions. She has made some super passes. Her leadership is so valuable.”

While a 21-point win against a quality opponent will put a smile on a coach’s face, Paul True knows his club still has plenty room for improvement as the Lakers march toward the playoffs.

“What we need to do better is when we create a turnover, we can’t then turn the ball back over,” he said. “If we eliminate that piece, we’re going to gain four or five more possessions.”

And if a game is tight, every possession can be a big one.

Lakers upset by Freeport, fall from Number 1

FREEPORT — Now, you don’t see that very often.

Lake Region failed to score a point in the third quarter and was trounced by Freeport 48-32 Tuesday night.

Playing without center Tiana-Jo Carter due to injury, the Lakers fell behind 10-4 in the first and trailed 23-21 at the half. No Laker reached double digits. Kayleigh Lepage scored a season high 9 points to lead the Lakers. Sydney Hancock netted 8 points, Savannah Devoe had 6, Kelsey Winslow 4, Miranda Chadbourne 3 and Sarah Hancock scored 2 points.

Center Nina Davenport of Freeport (6-4) was the game’s high scorer with 23 points.

The loss dropped the Lakers (9-2) out of the top spot in Class B West into Number 2.

“We totally got beat in every facet of the game,” Laker Coach Paul True said. “It’s what we’ve talked about all year. Every game we play, people are coming for us and if we don’t respond, like last night, we’re going to get beat.”

It’s been a long time since Coach True has seen any of his teams hang up a goose egg in a quarter, just as it has been over eight years since the Lakers lost a game to the Falcons.

Up next: The Lakers host Poland this Saturday, Jan. 19 at 5:30 p.m. On Monday, LR travels to Fryeburg Academy for a 4 p.m. game. Then, the Lakers are off until Saturday, Jan. 26 when they host York at 5:3 p.m.