In an entertaining game that had everything one would want in a first-place showdown, Lake Orion came away from North Farmington High School on Oct. 12 missing just one thing: a victory.
The Raiders erased a four-point deficit in the final two minutes of regulation to send the game into overtime.
That set the stage for freshman Jenna Bachrouche to hit the dagger from 25-feet to break a 66-all tie and give North Farmington the outright lead in the OAA III, 69-66.
‘We knew it was going to be tough coming in here,? said Dragon coach Steve Roberts. ‘Unfortunately, one team had to lose and it ended up being us.?
The Dragons got out to an early lead, taking a seven-point advantage into the second quarter.
But when the Raiders began hitting some shots in the second quarter, they were able to set up a full-court press that gave his team fits, Roberts said.
North Farmington went on a 21-4 run through a long stretch of the quarter to build a double-digit lead.
Lake Orion hit a few late buckets to cut the Raider lead to 36-29 at the half.
In the third, the Dragons continued to chip away, eventually taking a 44-42 lead on a Trisha Dalrymple three-pointer from the corner with over two minutes left. They took a one-point lead into the fourth.
LO increased the lead to as many as five points on multiple occasions throughout the fourth, and had a four-point advantage when the Raiders? leading scorer, Cassie Beller, fouled out.
That’s when North Farmington showed why they were undefeated in league play, hitting a three from the corner and a running jumper in the final 1:50 to tie the score at 61.
Roberts said his defense was well positioned on both Raider makes.
‘You’ve got to give them credit,? he said. ‘They made the shots.?
The Raiders had a few chances to win the game in regulation, but a Bethany Watterworth block, an LO turnover and point-blank misses by Bachrouche and Lyndsey Booker, sent the game to the extra four minutes.
In overtime, it was the Dragons with a couple of good looks to take the late lead, missing on a Christine Norton turnaround attempt and a Courtney Zott pull-up from just inside the three-point arc with eight seconds remaining.
The miss paved the way for Bachrouche, who went end to end, before pulling up for the heave on the left side of the court.
Bachrouche scored 18 points and Booker had 19 for the Raiders. Norton paced everyone in the contest with 24.
The Lake Orion junior had set a career high with a team-high 10 points in a 58-33 drubbing of Groves at the Fieldhouse on Oct. 10.
Until last week, Norton primarily served as role player giving Watterworth (the starting center) periodic breaks, but Roberts liked what he saw with both players on the court at the same time.
‘We went bigger and I think we’ll continue to go bigger as Norton develops on the inside,? the coach said.
The loss dropped the Dragons to 4-1 in the league and 9-3 overall, but the Raiders will make a visit to Lake Orion on Nov. 7.
‘We’re looking forward to North Farmington coming in to our place,? Roberts said. ‘We’re the hunters now.?