Weekend Basketball Recaps
The Lakeland Hawks boy’s varsity basketball team sadly put another loss in their book after the game against Coeur d’Alene High School on Feb. 10. Lakeland fought hard and ultimately fell, 82-52.
Lakeland walked into the game knowing that both their JV and C teams had lost against CHS but made an effort to stay positive.
“The team as a whole tried to remain as optimistic as possible, regardless of who we are playing and regardless of our record,” sophomore Mason Hensley said.
Despite the CHS Vikings getting the ball during tip-off, the Hawks started strong, both offensively and defensively.
Lakeland opened with an exemplary man-to-man defense led by star players Ben Ryan and Nick Nowell. On the offensive side of the ball, they had an intense start, as they were able to break the Viking’s full-court press.
“In pretty much every game, Scotty Hocking fuels the team’s offense,” Hensley said.
Hocking led the team with 14 points.
Despite their good start, Lakeland quickly fell behind in the second quarter, and this was “pretty much the deciding factor of the game,” Hensley said.
Head coach Tony Hanna agreed, saying the team “had a really rough second quarter,” but was proud that the team continued playing like they have all season.
“This team has been great about continuing to compete no matter what the score is,” Hanna said.
Though this was a rough game, it was memorable for two of the players. Aiden Rothrock scored his first points of the season, which helped hype up the team after being down for a while.
“The team enjoyed that play quite a bit,” Hensley said.
Hensley added that this was his first full game playing at the varsity level. He noted that varsity plays at a very quick pace and is something he will need to learn to adjust to. “Playing against a great Coeur d’Alene team was a good experience,” Hensley added.
LHS played to the best of their abilities, though they lost in the end.
“Coeur d’Alene is one of the best teams in the state, and we played right with them most of the game,” Hanna said.
—The Lakeland girl’s varsity team walked away from their chance at state after an unfortunate 51-29 loss to Sandpoint High School this past Friday, Feb 10.
Though the girls attempted to keep a positive mentality going into the game, it is undeniable that nerves were apparent because of the importance of this game. This game determined if Lakeland would move on to state or turn around and head home for good.
“I think the girls went into the game hoping to win, whereas Sandpoint went in believing they could win,” said head coach Tyrel Derrick. This makes all the difference in a game, despite the positive attitude the girls tried to maintain.
As the Lady Hawks were down, it was a big help when Karystn Kiefer came off the bench because she brought “a lot of energy to keep the team going,” said Landree Simon.
The Lady Hawks team started slow, which notably hurt them in the end as they were forced to spend most of the game “playing catch up,” Simon said. She also feels the team could have done better in their offense press when getting the ball up the court but adds, “the whole team did great driving to the basket.”
Though this was the case, Lakeland battled hard, especially Landree Simon. Simon was a star player as she scored a total of thirty-seven points in the two district games. “One of the big highlights was by Landree. You could see a lot of fight in her throughout the game,” Derrick said. He noted that you could tell through her playing that she tried to do everything she could to win.
Though there were things the girls could have done better, Derrick believes what counts happens in the off-season. The Sandpoint players worked harder in the offseason, which “proved the difference between our team and theirs,” said Derrick.
Though the team started the game with a rough start, they played hard and did not give up despite their mental and physical exhaustion. The team learned a lot this season and will take that knowledge with them as they begin their journey back up to the top.