NAPLES – Sydney Hancock hit a school-record six 3-pointers Friday night to help Lake Region top Falmouth 49-33 in a Western Maine Conference girls’ basketball game.
Hancock scored 22 points as the Lakers (14-2), ranked third in Western Class B, rolled to a fourth consecutive victory.
Additional Photos
Tiana-Jo Carter, a 6-foot freshman center, scored nine of her 17 points in the second quarter as Lake Region overcame a slow start.
“We came out very flat and we knew fatigue would be an issue,” Lake Region Coach Paul True said. “We played an emotional game and a great game (Thursday), and we had Greely earlier in the week.”
The Lakers were coming off a 42-33 victory against Gray-New Gloucester. Their slow start enabled the Yachtsmen to open a 15-5 lead.
“Fatigue was definitely a factor, but at the same time I thought Falmouth came out and did a great job of establishing the pace early on,” True said.
But Falmouth couldn’t sustain it.
“I didn’t think we were getting to spots versus their 1-3-1 (zone defense) where we should have been,” True said. “Offensively, it was a matter of us getting organized and moving the basketball rather than holding onto it.”
The Lakers, 46-30 winners against Falmouth on Dec. 22, also used their pressure defense to fuel a 9-2 run in the final three minutes of the half and move into a 23-21 lead.
“Our defense definitely kicked in,” Hancock said. “At the end of the first half we had really strong defensive play, which helped us get back into it. After that, it just was pressure, pressure, which is what we’re good at.”
After Falmouth (8-7) made it 26-26 less than three minutes into the second half, the Lakers reeled off an 11-0 run.
“Against a little more pressure, we have a tendency to turn the ball over,” said Falmouth Coach Mari Warner. “We were giving the ball back to them a little quicker than you would like. The big thing was we (also) were giving up penetration, which opened up the inside game. We got very, very tentative with the ball, and you can’t play tentative.”
Hancock broke a school record shared by five others when she sank her sixth 3-pointer with three minutes left to make it 47-30.
“Sydney has grown up a lot this year and she’s shown a lot,” True said. “The last couple of games she’s really been demanding in coming to get the ball. She wants to get fouled and go to the line and make big free throws. Tonight she showed she wants to knock down perimeter shots.”
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:
pbetit@pressherald.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.