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Winning pretty or winning ugly really doesn't matter to coach Denny Meyer and his second-ranked Lake girls’ basketball team at this point.
The Flyers, a Division III district finalist the last two years, moved a step closer to getting there again by handing Rossford a 46-35 loss in a sectional final last Saturday at Bowsher. Lake senior Kaysie Brittenham scored a game-high 28 points and hit 4-of-5 free throws in the last 30 seconds to seal the victory.
“It was an ugly game, but that's how Rossford makes you play,” Meyer said. “They play great defense and they like to slow things down. For the most part, I was really pleased. Our defense was really good again and we made the big shots when we needed to.”
The Flyers (20-1) get to play Suburban Lakes League rival Elmwood for a third time this season in Thursday night's district semifinals at Anthony Wayne. Lake, which hasn't lost an SLL game in three years, beat the Royals 63-32 at home and 47-29 on the road this season.
The winner advances to Saturday's championship game against the winner of Thursday's other semifinal between eighth-ranked Genoa (20-2) and fifth-ranked Liberty-Benton (19-2). Lake has already beaten Genoa twice this season (36-33 and 52-38) and has won seven in a row over the Comets.
The lone blemish on the Flyers' record this season is a 63-44 loss at third-ranked Clyde (21-0), which has reached the D-II district semis. That Feb. 14 loss ended Lake's 61-game regular-season winning streak.
“We wanted to see how they would respond to a loss,” Meyer said. “We wanted to see how they played at practice. They responded great, because three days after that we were playing Genoa for the league championship. They responded very well; they were ready. We talked a lot right after the game and they realized how good of a team Clyde was. It just got them fired up. We were down by 21 in the first quarter and we won the last three quarters of that game.”
Meyer said Lake isn't looking past Elmwood for a possible rematch against Genoa or a revenge game against Liberty-Benton.
“The last time we played Elmwood, it was closer so I don't think they will look past them,” he said. “We were only up by seven at halftime. Our girls have done a good job of never overlooking an opponent, and I think they will stay that way.”
Liberty-Benton has been a thorn in Lake's side the past two seasons. In 2009, the fourth-ranked Eagles took on unbeaten, sixth-ranked Lake in the D-III district finals and scratched out a 45-41 win. L-B went on to the state semifinals, where it lost to South Euclid Regina 59-30.
Last season, also in the D-III district finals, top-ranked Liberty-Benton got past fifth-ranked, unbeaten Lake 39-28 en route to a perfect season. The Eagles finished 27-0 and crushed Middletown Madison 66-44 in the state championship game.
Meyer said he's counting on a solid performance from Brittenham, who is averaging 19.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.6 steals and 2.8 assists a game. She was recently selected first-team all-District 7.
“We told Kaysie it's time for her to put the team on her back,” Meyer said. “Last year when we lost to Liberty-Benton, that's what Amanda Hyde did. We told Kaysie that's what she has to do. I got on her this summer about being a little selfish. Now we need her to be more selfish.”
Lake senior Carly Huston, a second-team all-district pick, averages 9.6 points and 6.6 rebounds a game, while honorable mention all-district selection Hannah Cox, a junior, leads the team in assists (69) and averages 3.9 points. Sophomore Alyssa Shaffer averages 4.9 points per game.
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