Coming off of a tough loss in their home finale, the Lake Orion girls basketball squad needed to regroup and get a win at Berkley to ensure at least a share of second place in the OAA III.
Though the host Bears came out strong on their Nov. 9 senior night, the Dragons responded and cruised to a 57-21 knockout.
‘To come off of a hard loss and win decisively shows a lot of character on our part,? Coach Steve Roberts said of the win, which followed a 51-44 loss to North Farmington on Nov. 7.
In spite of their disappointing league season (just a couple of victories), Berkley did not lay down.
The Bears scored 12 points in the first and led by a bucket, but they managed a putrid 9 points the rest of the game against a ferocious Dragon defense.
‘We held them without a field goal for over 15 minutes,? Roberts noted.
Berkley scored their only two points of the second quarter when Diamond Robinson hit a pair of free throws in the final two minutes before the half.
Their only bucket in the third came when Robinson hit a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left in that quarter.
In total, the Dragons outscored Berkley 35-5 in those two quarters, including a 19-0 run to start the second half, in which seven different players scored for LO.
‘It was a great defensive effort on our part,? Roberts said. ‘In the second half, we ironed some things out.?
Melanie LaMerato led LO with 11 points and Trisha Dalrymple added 10. Christine Norton had 10 rebounds.
The win wrapped up the regular season for the Dragons, who finished 9-3 in league action and 14-5 overall.
They tied Stoney Creek for second place, with undefeated North Farmington taking top honors.
‘We’re not where we want to be, but we were ahead of where we were predicted to be,? Roberts said.
‘We had opportunities in all of the competitive games that we lost,? the coach added.
Roberts said both the players and the coaches showed significant growth through the season, and, with the team not losing any players to graduation, things look bright for the future.
‘We’re excited about our whole program,? Roberts said. ‘Potentially, we have everyone back.?
The Dragons began district play this week. Check out this week’s online edition for more details.