One for the Books

The Lakeland Lady Hawks finished their season with an 8-11 record(3-4 IEL). 

Although they fell short of state, the Lady Hawks had a lot to be proud of with a team that will only lose one senior to graduation. Although that one senior was undoubtedly the most impactful player for coach Steve Seymour’s team, in Addie Kiefer, this team filled with underclassmen will continue to improve over the next few seasons. 

The Lady Hawk’s high points of the nonconference season consisted of an 8-7 overall nonconference record, including a 42-point trouncing of East Valley, a 20-point stomping of Bonners Ferry, and a 58-57 overtime victory in a nailbiter against Freeman. 

During conference play, the Lady Hawk’s best moments were winning the season series against the Moscow Lady Bears and winning the Battle for the Paddle game against Sandpoint; despite going on a nearly twelve-minute scoring drought that ranged from the end of the first quarter to the middle of the third quarter. 

When asked about the season at a glance, freshman Ziya Munyer said, “I was very impressed with how we played and looking forward, you have to understand that this is a really young team that relied on a lot of first- and second-year players who are only going to improve and help this team in the upcoming seasons.” 

Similar to many of her teammates, Munyer said that the Battle for the Paddle game against Sandpoint was her favorite moment of the season. 

Junior Kenna Simon said about her season, “We had an extremely young starting five, and we definitely played well for such an inexperienced group. As a team, I think we need to work extremely hard and get prepared to work hard next season. I also feel as a to-be senior, being a leader in that process will help.

“Personally, I am pretty happy with the result of the season but I did realize that I need to be more serious this offseason. I plan to work hard off the court to be a leader like Addie was this year. I am also very bossy on the court, so I’m ready to take on a leadership position.”  

Similar to Munyer, Simon said that Battle for the Paddle was her favorite moment from the season. “I kinda blacked out for the whole game and just played. It was just really fun having so many people watching and yelling the whole time.”

Addie Kiefer led the Lady Hawks in many offensive and defensive categories, and her teammates had nothing but praises for her. 

When speaking about the impact of Addie Kiefer, Munyer said, “Even though we only had one senior, having a strong leader like Addie to go to when we were down was a great feeling. She was a rock that we relied on and turned to in tough situations, and she played fantastic all year.”

Simon added, “Even though Addie was the only senior, she made up for it by going insane every game. She always expected everyone to give it their all at all times. I am just lucky that I got to play with Addie these last years because she is such a hard worker and extremely fun to play with.” 

The Lakeland Lady Hawks have a bright future ahead of them and look to do big things next season.