STUFFED — Fryeburg Academy's Kendra Fox has her shot rejected by Lake Region center Tiana-Jo Carter during Monday's game at Wadsworth Arena. (Rivet Photo)
LAKERS 62
CeCe Hancock 3-2-9, Tiana-Jo Carter 7-4-18, Miranda Chadbourne 2-1-5, Kate Cutting 1-0-3, Kari Eldridge 0-2-2, Lucy Fowler 1-0-3, Kayleigh Lepage 1-0-3, Sarah Hancock 1-0-2, Sydney Hancock 0-1-1, Spencer True 2-0-6, Meghan VanLoan 1-0-2, Kelsey Winslow 3-2-8, Savannah Devoe 0-0-0.
3-Pointers: True 2, C. Hancock, Cutting, Fowler, Lepage.
Turnovers: 11.
Free Throws: 12-of-21
Rebounds (25): Carter 8, C. Hancock 6, Winslow 4.
RAIDERS 30
Sage Antolin 0-0-0, Ellen Bacchiocchi 0-0-0, Sydney Charles 0-0-0, Kristen Chipman 0-0-0, Skye Dole 6-1-13, Kendra Fox 0-6-6, Makayla Frost 1-0-2, McKenna Gerchman 0-0-0, Lexi L’Heureux-Carland 1-1-3, Julia Quinn 2-2-6, Karylann Walker 0-0-0, Sarah Welch 0-0-0.
Turnovers: 25
Free Throws: 10-of-18
Rebounds (22): Dole 9, Welch 4.
Lakers 16 14 17 15 62
Raiders 7 6 10 7 30

By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

FRYEBURG — When the starting line-ups were announced, Fryeburg Academy players may have felt they caught a break because Laker center Tiana-Jo Carter was on the bench.

The Raiders discovered they had a bigger problem — the Laker press.

After a tight opening four minutes, the Lakers’ pressure finally took its toll on the Raiders as eight turnovers helped trigger an 8-0 run and a 16-7 lead. Fryeburg committed 25 turnovers for the game and managed just 13 first half points as Lake Region rolled to a 62-30 victory Monday at Wadsworth Arena.

“The keys to the games were getting the game going up and down, ball movement, and execution at both ends of the floor,” Laker Coach Paul True said.

Coach True can put a check mark next to each game point. The Lakers’ fast and frenetic pace was too much for the Raiders. LR had good balance on offense, and was stingy on defense, allowing just one bucket in the first quarter and just 6 points in the second.

Another good sign was the return of Carter, who blocked four shots and hauled down 8 rebounds in limited play. LR guards consistently dumped the ball inside to Carter, who responded with a game-high 18 points.

“(This win was a) total team effort,” Coach True said. “Everyone contributed, played hard and were very supportive.”

Balance was on display in the second quarter as five Lakers scored, including a 3-pointer by Kate Cutting, which pushed the LR lead to 11.

As has been the case for the Raiders all season, FA went into a scoring drought after center Skye Dole (13 points, 9 rebounds) sank a jump shot. Nearly six minutes ticked off the clock until guard Julia Quinn draining an open outside shot. Part of the problem was Dole having to retreat to the FA bench after picking up her third foul with 1:08 left in the half.

Between those two FA hoops, the Lakers were rolling, scoring 8 unanswered points. CeCe Hancock’s two foul shots closed out the half with the Lakers up 30-13.

After a slow moving opening four minutes of the second half, the Lakers turned it on as Carter re-entered. The junior center had four rebounds, two blocked shots and scored 10 points. And when the Raiders tried to double up on Carter, LR shooters responded, including a 3-pointer from Kayleigh Lepage.

Meanwhile, the Raiders sputtered offensively as guard Kendra Fox provided all 4 points from the foul line over the last 4:15 of the quarter as the Lakers increased their lead to 47-23.

Even the Laker reserves got into the act. Freshman Spencer True connected on a pair of 3-pointers, while junior Lucy Fowler also netted a trey.

In other action:

• Raiders zip Sacopee. With 10 players figuring in the scoring, the Fryeburg Academy girls zipped Sacopee Valley last week 41-19.

The Raiders enjoyed a 20-8 halftime lead as the Hawks failed to real double figures in any quarter — scoring just a bucket in the third.

Makayla Frost led the FA offense with 9 points followed by Skye Dole with 7, Julia Quinn 7, Sydney Charles 4, McKenna Gerchman 4, Sarah Welch 4, Ellen Bacchiocchi 2, Lexi L’Heureux-Carland 2, Karylann Walker 1 and Kristen Chipman had 1.

FLIP SHOT — Lake Region guard Sarah Hancock tries to flip a shot to the hoop after being fouled during Saturday's game against Poland. (Rivet Photo)

• Winslow late hoop saves day. Coming off an upset loss to Freeport, Lake Region nearly fell victim to another stunner Saturday night.

Playing for the second time without center Tiana-Jo Carter, the Lakers seemingly had the game under control against a fired up Poland squad, leading by 12 points midway through the third quarter.

The Knights, however, rallied to tie the game with 19.9 seconds left as Michaella Arsenault (24 points, 6 rebounds) sank two foul shots.

But, no one gets out on the fastbreak like Laker senior Kelsey Winslow. After dominating early with quick low post moves, Winslow beat the Poland defense down the court and received a pinpoint pass from guard Sarah Hancock for a lay-up with 8.2 seconds left to lift the Lakers to a thrilling 48-46 victory.

Winslow finished with 23 points to go with 14 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

“We sure needed this one,” a relieved LR Coach Paul True said after the game. “I think we learned a good lesson tonight in that we had a big lead and we simply needed to slow things down and be more patient. We didn’t do that, and we let them back into the game.”

Poland called timeout with 4.1 seconds to set up a last ditch shot attempt. Deep in the right corner, Arsenault let fly a sidewinder shot over Winslow, but was off the mark.

Poland nearly upset the Lakers in the opener, leading for three quarters before losing a 49-38 decision.

The Knights had a chance to tie the game with 52.8 seconds left as Brittina Maheux made a nifty reverse lay-up, but officials waved off the bucket because Poland Coach Darren Littlefield had called for a timeout before the shot.

Again, the Knights faced a short-handed LR squad as Carter remained out for a second straight game. But, senior Sydney Hancock, who missed the opener, made her presence felt with 17 points, including 8 from the foul line as she aggressively drove to the hoop all night.

Scoring just 4 points in the Freeport loss, Winslow made a big statement in the first quarter, scoring 10 of the Lakers’ 15 points. She was very active in the paint at both ends of the court, hauling down 6 rebounds as the Lakers took a 15-9 lead.

Winslow scored her team’s first 4 points to start the second quarter as the lead swelled to double digits. As in most meetings between the two schools, play was physical, resulting in many collisions that sent players to the floor.

The Lakers appeared to be in control of the game when Sydney Hancock drove the lane, scored and made a foul shot. After a Poland turnover, Sarah Hancock sent a half-court laser pass to Winslow, who was fouled. Two foul shots made it 34-21 with 5:58 left in the quarter.

A combination of gritty Poland defense and impatience on the Lakers’ part (7 turnovers in the period) saw the Knights go on a 12-3 run — keyed by 4 points each from Arsenault and Bolduc — to narrow the deficit to 37-31 entering the fourth.

With the Lakers going stone cold from the floor — the team failed to score a field goal until Winslow’s winning shot with 8.2 seconds left — Poland kept chipping away. Bolduc drained a deep 3-pointer and Kayla Yirrell converted inside the lane to cut the deficit to 40-39 with 2:46 left.

Knowing her team was struggling from the outside, Sydney Hancock took control of the game by driving to the basket. She was rewarded by making eight trips to the charity stripe over the final 2 minutes.

And, she ultimately made the Knights pay — sinking 6-of-8 attempts. For the game, the Lakers were 21-of-29 (72%) to Poland’s 6-of-15 (40%).

Arsenault did the same for Poland. Her driving lay-up and foul shot with 2:19 gave Poland a brief lead. Hancock’s four foul shots put the Lakers up 45-42. Arsenault answered with a clutch baseline jumper with 1:01 left.

But, the Laker seniors — Sydney Hancock and Kelsey Winslow, who have been in many big games over their careers — made the big plays with the game on the line.

And, the Lakers escaped once more from the Knights’ upset bid.

For the Lakers, CeCe Hancock chipped in 6 points and Miranda Chadbourne had 2 points. Chadbourne had 7 rebounds for the Lakers, who held a 37-24 advantage over the Knights.

For the Knights, Brittina Maheux netted 5 points, Melora Lavoie 4, Amanda Gibson 2 and Kayla Yirrell had 2 points.

Up next: Another showdown for the Lakers as they host York this Saturday at 5:30 p.m.