The game was not a thing of beauty for either side, but the Lake Center Christian School Tigers (6-3) shook off a sluggish start to pull away from the Springfield Spartans (1-10) for a 40-29 victory in girls basketball action on Jan. 14.
The Tigers hit two early 3-pointers, but still trailed late in the first quarter by an 8-7 score. That was the first and only lead of the night for the Spartans, who were plagued by 23 turnovers and 19.6 percent shooting (9-for-46) and were unable to generate any consistent offense against an active LCCS zone defense.
"We didn't have anyone with a hot hand on offense," Springfield coach Dave Chaffman admitted. "They were more aggressive and on this night, they wanted it more than we did."
The Tigers were led by a strong all-around effort by senior forward Mary Miller, who was active on both ends of the court in posting 12 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and two steals. Miller helped lead her team to a 40-28 rebounding advantage.
"This was Mary's best all-around game by far," said LCCS coach Tom White. "We have talked to her about being more aggressive and not shying away from contact. She really exploded to the hoop and she was on the attack at both ends of the court."
Miller's efforts were complemented by Amanda Troyer (11 points) and strong play from freshman guard Melanie Harvey, who saw her first extended action of the season and made the most of it. Harvey (six points) was singled out by White after the game for giving the team added firepower off the bench.
"Mel did a great job with the opportunity she had tonight," White said. "For the first time this season, we went ten (players) deep and ten players contributed. The girls actually brought that up first in the locker room after the game before I did."
After a close first quarter that ended with LCCS ahead by one, the Tigers poured on the defense in the second quarter and held the Spartans to a single field goal in extending their lead to 20-10 at the half. Building on that momentum, the Tigers pushed their advantage to 29-15 at the end of the third quarter thanks to balanced scoring and a defense that forced a consistent stream of Springfield turnovers.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, White was able to rest several of his starters and Springfield inched closer thanks to an aggressive full-court press and good energy. The Spartans forced 24 LCCS turnovers on the night, many against the full-court press. White admitted his team has not seen much pressing this season and did not make good decisions against the Springfield press, while Chaffman cited it as a strategy he hopes to use more this season.
"That's a style we would like to play a lot more often," Chaffman said. "It's tough because we are just not healthy. I make no excuses because LCCS played well, but every night, we have four or five girls unable to play and it hurts."
Two Spartans who did take the court were fighting their own injury or illness. Forward Samantha Godley (two points, two rebounds) was fighting the flu and did not have her normal energy and effectiveness on the low post. Junior guard Brittany Williams is battling a spine injury that restricts her to eight minutes a game, but Chaffman pointed to her heart and passion as something her teammates would do well to emulate.
"Brittany is a kid who can't play a lot because of her injury, but during the summer, she shoots 500 or more 3-pointers a day to get better," Chaffman said. "She just wants it that badly."
Freshman Marisa Lucco led the Spartans with eight points and eight rebounds, while Williams chipped in with five points. As a team, the Spartans knocked down nine free throws in the second half after getting to the line just twice in the first half. Chaffman attributed the surge in free throws to a change in the team's offensive approach coming out of the locker room at halftime. But in the end, it was the Tigers who maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half and kept a firm hold on the game.
"Coming off of a bad game (a loss to Our Lady of the Elms) on Monday, I was proud of how our girls bounced back tonight and picked up the lessons we worked on in practice," White said.
The schedule is packed for the Tigers over the next week-plus, with games against Elyria Open Door, East Canton and Canton Timken on the schedule.
For the Spartans, they will return to PTC play for the remainder of the season and look to capitalize on the effort they used to outscore LCCS by three in the fourth quarter. Chaffman knows it won't be an easy task, but is hopeful that the light will go on for his team.
"You try everything to get them to really get that push, so hopefully that will happen," he declared.
