It took about four minutes for the Lake Region girls’ basketball team to get rolling in Tuesday’s Class B South quarterfinal game against Oak Hill.
And once the Lakers got on the board, they couldn’t be stopped. After trailing 5-0 halfway through the first quarter, No. 4 Lake Region (14-5) kicked off a 16-0 run en route to a 52-28 victory over the fifth-seeded Raiders (14-5) at the Portland Expo.
Lake Region will face No. 1 Gray-New Gloucester in a regional semifinal.
“I think we just came out a little nervous,” said Lake Region senior Lauren Jakobs. “We just had to shake off the nerves. Once we start making shots, we’re off to the races and no one is going to stop us.”
Chandler True led the Lakers with 16 points, and Jakobs contributed 14. For Oak Hill, Desirae Dumais had nine and Abigail Nadeau eight.
Nadeau scored the first five points of the game, making two free throws before hitting a 3-pointer with four minutes left in the first quarter.
“We knew that we needed to get it together,” Chandler True said. “We just picked up the intensity and really shared the ball well.”
Chandler True answered with a 3-pointer on the Lakers’ next possession, then pulled within a point with a free throw. Shauna Hancock gave Lake Region a 6-5 lead with a field goal before True rounded out the scoring for the quarter with another two points from the foul line, putting the Lakers up 8-5.
A Jakobs field goal early in the second quarter and 3-pointers from Rachel Shanks and Jakobs boosted the Lakers before two free throws from Anya Chase ended Oak Hill’s scoring drought with less than six minutes left in the half.
The Raiders found a bit of momentum late in the second quarter with a Dumais three-point play and a Julia Noel field goal for a quick five points in the final minute, but Lake Region still entered halftime with a 28-16 lead.
Nadeau pulled Oak Hill within 10 points with a field goal 20 seconds into the second half, but it was the closest the Raiders would get.
“When we share the basketball and we’re patient on offense and find the open player, we can be very difficult to guard,” Lake Region Coach Paul True said. “I think our pressure kind of got the ball rolling.”
The Lakers took off from there, forcing turnover after turnover and turning them into points. They outscored Oak Hill 20-4 in the third quarter, hitting four 3-pointers in a row – two from Chandler True and the others from Jakobs and Shanks – in another 16-0 run.
The Raiders outscored the Lakers 8-4 in the fourth quarter.
“It was just a matter of settling down,” Paul True said of Lake Region’s slow start. “The game is 32 minutes long. Thankfully, it’s not the first minute that decides it.”
Taylor Vortherms can be contacted at 791-6417 or
tvortherms@pressherald.com
Twitter: TaylorVortherms
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