The Lakeland Hawks (3-2) defeated the Lewiston Bengals (3-4) on Dec. 8.
Landree Simon played an elite game dropping 24 points. Payton Sterling added 12 points, and Lila Kiefer added six points and elite defense.
The Hawks started off rough as they only scored eight points in the first quarter, compared to the Bengals’ 18. The Hawks came out flat-footed but were not ready to give up yet.
“I think we faced a lot of adversity at the start of the game, but we knew we could beat them,” Simon said.
After the first quarter concluded, the Hawks needed to come out with more intensity and effort if they wanted to win this game.
The second quarter started and the Hawks, again, struggled to put the ball into the hoop.
“We still came out flat-footed, and although our defense as a team was better, we were still struggling to find a way to score,” Kiefer said.
As the girls entered the locker room, the atmosphere of the gym was just not what it could have been.
“The gym seemed as dead as a graveyard, I mean it was very quiet and the team just needed some momentum,” Kiefer said.
Coming out of halftime, it was clear to any spectator that the Hawks’ were standing on business as they came out and scored 20 points, while also playing phenomenal defense, in which the Bengals only scored six points.
“Halftime was the turning point in this game, I mean not many teams just come out and outscore their opponents 20-6 after playing two terrible quarters,” Simon said.
The Hawks were determined to win this game. They already had beaten the Bengals earlier in the season, so it would be quite disappointing if they lost to them.
“We knew kind of how they play since we have played them already so it was easier to adjust to what we needed to,” Simon said.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Hawks had to stay focused and not give up on their goal to take down the Bengals once more.
The Hawks continued to dominate and once again outscored the Bengals 19-10. The Hawks took care of business and won the game 54-45.
“When the final buzzer came, I was so happy because we as a team fought so hard to win and came back after two rough quarters,” Simon said.