In the last six seconds, senior Stephanie Lock banked a shot from the block to break the tie between Lakeland and Pinckney during the first round of the Kensington Lakes Athletic Association Lakes Conference girls basketball tournament Tuesday.
This game-changing basket put the Eagles ahead of the Pirates, 36-34, and it was enough as they hung on to win the game. Lock was also the leading scorer with 25 of her team’s points.
“I was just so determined to score,” she said. “I wanted to score so bad so I did anything possible I could.”
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According to both Lock and Lakeland head coach Mike Head, defense is what won the game for the team.
“We take pride in our defense. You look at our scoring all year and it’s going to be a score like tonight,” Head said. “We know that it (defense) will always keep us in the game.”
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Said Lock: “I feel everyone did really good, especially defensively. That’s been our focus all year, and everyone did a really good job talking and getting around screens.”
The only time the team trailed was when it ended the first quarter, down 12-10 to the Pirates.
“We were playing tough,” Head said. “Pinckney’s a great opponent — they work hard and they mix up things. We kind of turned the ball over every now and then, but we handled it.”
The Eagles (13-3) will be taking on Hartland (15-1), which defeated Walled Lake Central in the first round of the tournament.
“That will be a great match-up,” Head said. “They’re great athletes, have a fantastic point guard and are well-coached. We’ve lost to them the last few years at the end of the season, so we’ll just go out there and play them tough like we have everyone else.”
The Eagles other scorers were: junior Jessica Haren (3), senior Rose Deren (2), senior Callie Vivian (2), junior Marlayna (2) and junior Ciara Schultz (2).
