Lakewood up to task in Licking County League showdown
PATASKALA - Cheyenne Brooks-Harris often can be a magnet for fouls. The Lakewood senior, however, finds the ball, too.
Brooks-Harris had seven rebounds in the fourth quarter, including a key putback, on Tuesday to help the Lancers fend off host Licking Heights 61-54 in an early-season Licking County League-Buckeye Division showdown. The Hornets are looking for their program's first title, but the Lancers showed they won't let it go without a fight.
"It was very important to have passion on the court, play hard, have a lot of effort and work together as a team," said Brooks-Harris, who had a huge influence in the second half after sitting out the second quarter because of foul trouble.
Lakewood (4-1, 2-0) led by as much as 13 early in the third quarter, but Heights (1-1, 1-1) heated up the from the outside and cut the lead to two twice. The Lancers, however, never gave it up.
After a Jordin Spears breakaway layup cut the lead to 53-49 with 2:40 left in the game, Brooks-Harris scored off an assist from Megan Davis and then scored off a missed free throw. She had eight points and 11 rebounds.
"We have to find a way to keep her in the game in the first half, but what you saw in the fourth quarter is what you can get from her," Lakewood coach Phil Sikorski said. "That's how it was Friday night against Johnstown. She was grabbing every board possible. She's a player."
Davis scored a game-high 23, with 15 coming in the second half.
Cassidy Denig's coast-to-coast layup late in the first quarter gave Heights an 11-10 lead, but the Hornets never led again. They trailed 31-20 at halftime, and that proved to be a hole too deep.
"We are trying to get over this hump," Heights coach Danielle Fleming said. "They somewhat want to will their way sometimes: will a basket or will a free throw instead of just relying on our system. The biggest thing is trusting our offense."
Jordin Spears had a team-high 20 points, but she had to work for most every one. The Lancers used their size to wall off the area around the rim, forcing Spears to pull up, and she shot an uncharacteristic 7-of-27 from the field.
"Our defense was to stop Jordin Spears," Brooks-Harris said. "We had to stop her first. We had to stop her drive and her shot."
It also was a tough shooting night for Lakewood's Courtney Vierstra, who was just 3-of-16, but she had plenty of help. Courtney Knepper had 10 points and seven rebounds; Sydney Houdeshell had seven points, 11 rebounds and four assists; and Amara Cummins had five points on two second-quarter jumpers.
The Lancers shot 30 percent, but they were 19-of-25 from the foul line, had 54 rebounds and committed just 13 turnovers. It all added up to a key victory.
"You look at our nonleague schedule, that's all by design," Sikorski said. "Good teams are going to not let you do what you want to do offensively, and you have to figure ways around that. There are some things we need to clean up, but overall, to walk out of here with a 'W' is a great night."
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Stat book
Lakewood 12-19-15-15 — 61
Licking Heights 11-9-22-12 — 54
Lakewood: 20-67 FG, 19-25 FT, 2-14 3pt. (Knepper 1, Cummins 1), 54 Rebounds (Brooks-Harris 11, Houdeshell 11), 13 Assists (Houdeshell 4), 13 Turnovers. Scoring: Wilson 0 2-5 2, Brooks-Harris 4 0-0 8, Houdeshell 1 5-6 7, Vierstra 3 0-1 6, Davis 7 9-10 23, Knepper 3 3-3 10, Cummins 2 0-0 5.
Licking Heights: 19-65 FG, 12-19 FT, 4-16 3pt. (Starr 2, Spears 1, Jordan 1), 46 Rebounds (Spears 6, Denig 6), 10 Assists (Spears 4), 15 Turnovers. Scoring: Starr 3 0-0 8, Swisher 0 3-4 3, Aitken 1 0-0 2, Spears 7 5-6 20, Denig 4 3-7 11, Jordan 3 0-0 7, Coffman 1 0-0 2, Case 0 1-2 1.