The Lake Orion girls basketball team’s stay in regional play might have been short, but it was still a memorable one.
The Dragons lost 42-38 at Chippewa Valley on Monday night, just three days removed from winning a district championship.
Coach Steve Roberts said that by advancing to the final 32, his team went deeper than any other in school history.
‘We would’ve liked to go further, but all-in-all, we had a great season,? he said.
Lake Orion finished 17-6 on the year.
Trailing by seven at the half, after Chippewa Valley closed with a 12-2 run, the Dragons showed the resiliency that made them district champs the week prior.
Bethany Watterworth, who led Lake Orion with 10 points and 12 rebounds, converted an old-fashioned three-point play to cap a 10-0 run from the end of the third quarter through the beginning of the fourth.
That run gave the Dragons a 34-33 lead, but Chippewa Valley’s Claire Cannon hit a three-pointer on the next possession to put her team back on top.
Cannon hit another three a few minutes later that put her team up 39-35, prompting a Dragon timeout with 2:17 remaining.
Courtney Zott did her best to keep the Dragons close, making three free throws in the final minute, but Cannon also converted three of four attempts, resulting in the final score.
‘We knew that everything went through (Cannon),? Roberts said.
Cannon finished with a game-high 17 points.
‘Claire is a solid ball-handler, very good free throw shooter, and good clutch shooter,? Chippewa Valley Coach Kevin Voss said. ‘That three she hit was huge.?
Chippewa Valley shot 7-for-10 from behind the arc in the game, compared to just 3-for-16 shooting from Lake Orion.
The Dragons put up 11 three-point attempts after the break.
‘We spread the floor a little bit more,? Roberts said. ‘We said that we wanted to dribble-attack the basket, but they were collapsing down there pretty well.?
Watterworth had seven of her 10 points in the first half.
‘We knew they were going to run a perimeter weave and try to isolate (Watterworth) on the inside,? said Voss, who credited his defense for making adjustments on the inside as the game wore on.
Roberts said he was pleased with the resiliency his team showed down the stretch, particularly Zott, who finished with nine points.
With no seniors on the roster, Lake Orion has the potential to return their entire varsity roster next season.
The coach said those that return will remember the highs and lows of their playoff run.
‘It left a bad taste in their mouth, and we’re going to get better,? Roberts said.
‘This experience is only going to make them better.?

DISTRICT FINAL: Lake Orion 47, Waterford Mott 35
Watterworth put it best after the Dragons wrapped up a week that included a three-point win over Clarkston and a district title against Waterford Mott.
‘Obviously, that one (Clarkston) was a little more exciting with the score, but this one (Mott) was more important,? she said.
The Dragons sandwiched a win over Lapeer East in there too, giving them three wins in four days to claim the District 31 title at Oxford High School last week.
Watterworth’s 19 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks led Lake Orion to a 47-35 win in last Friday’s title game versus Mott.
But holding a dangerous Mott team to just 35 points is what impressed coach Steve Roberts the most.
‘I think we played a total team game,? Roberts said. ‘We played great defense.?
The Dragons lost to Mott at home 53-47 in September, but that game was a distant memory for a determined Lake Orion team.
‘We played more ‘man? defense than we did in the first meeting,? Roberts said.
That defensive approach held Mott’s leading scorer (and one of the county’s top players) Katie Mount to just 11 points, including just three in the first half.
The Dragons trailed 5-4 early, but went on a 12-0 run to close the quarter and never looked back.
Mott cut the deficit back to five at the break, using a 10-2 run to close the half, but the Dragons? steady defense never let their opponent get any closer.
Mott shot just over 25 percent on the night (12-for-47) and was only 7-for-16 at the free throw line.
With his team down 12 and just 1:45 remaining in the game, Mott coach Andy Coleman pulled the senior Mount, a move that appeared to be a waving of the white flag. She received a standing ovation from the Mott contingent, which thought her high school career was over.
But when Mott cut the score to 44-35 just 23 seconds later, Mount was back in the game.
Mott, however, didn’t score again in the game and the Dragons milked the clock and made a few more free throws to win.
‘This time in the season, everybody wants games,? Roberts said. ‘The kids have come back everyday ready to go.?
It was the first district championship for Lake Orion that anyone associated with the program can remember.
‘It’s very special,? Roberts said. ‘This is what you work for all year.?

DISTRICT SEMIFINAL: Lake Orion 61, Lapeer East 31
A full team effort led the Dragons, who had scoring contributions from 10 different players in the Nov. 16 win.
Leading by nine at the break, Lake Orion turned it on in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 16-0 in the final quarter to make the final score completely one-sided.
Melanie LaMerato had 10 first-half points, providing a big boost off of the Lake Orion bench.
‘She hit a couple of threes for us,? Roberts said. ‘She’s a sparkplug.?
‘I think it really helps her game coming off the bench,? the coach added, saying that the sophomore has a certain calmness about her.
The Dragons battled foul trouble in the first half, with LaMerato picking up three and Watterworth, Courtney Zott and Brittany Daenzer each picking up a couple.
Lapeer East found themselves in the double-bonus early in the second quarter, but could convert on only 8 of their 16 free throw attempts in the half.
Couple that with their 28 percent shooting from the floor (7-for-25), and it was not hard to see why the Dragons (who shot 14-for-27 in the half themselves) had a sizeable lead.
Watterworth had eight points in a second half that the Dragons dominated (30-9). She led the team on the night with 12 points.
Cortney Kimmel added nine points and five assists, while Zott had eight points and five assists.
Christine Norton led the way on the glass with seven boards. She also had three blocks on the night.
‘We had good balance inside and outside,? Roberts said.
The coach was also pleased to get some of his junior varsity players some experience at the varsity level in district play.
‘They played hard all year,? he said. ‘It’s great to get everybody into the game.?
The J.V. players scored seven points over the final four minutes and held the Eagles scoreless in the process.
‘They came in and contributed,? Roberts said.

DISTRICT QUARTERFINAL: Lake Orion 50, Clarkston 47
Watterworth scored 14 points after halftime to help the Dragons upset the Wolves in the first round of district play on Nov. 14.
Clarkston was ranked as high as second in the state earlier this season and had a large portion of a state quarterfinal team back expecting another run in 2006.
‘I’ve been here eight years and this ranks right up there,? said Roberts, who had never beaten the Wolves.
Roberts remembered a Lake Orion win in district play against Clarkston some 11 years ago as the last Dragon win in the series.
‘I had to flash back to that moment,? he said, ‘thinking if history could repeat itself.?
‘It’s a big win for our program,? he added.
A Dragon team with no seniors showed a great deal of composure coming from behind in the final minutes.
Lake Orion was led by three sophomores (Watterworth, Zott and LaMerato) who combined for 39 points, led by Watterworth’s 16.
‘When she gets the ball down there (in the post), she’s tough to stop,? Clarkston Coach Tim Wasilk said.
Zott’s eight points helped the Dragons jump out to a 15-5 lead after one quarter, but the Wolves responded and took a one-point lead into the half.
After the teams traded buckets for much of the third quarter, Clarkston scored the final five of the stanza on a Sam Carter 3-ball and Jen Johnston jumper, to take a 36-32 lead.
That lead grew to five at 39-34 when Johnston hit a three early in the fourth.
But then the Dragons made their move, going on a 10-0 run to take a five-point lead of their own with 3:44 remaining. Watterworth and LaMerato each had four points in the run.
Down four in the final two minutes, Carter hit yet another three and Jess Palace added a baseline jumper to put the Wolves back in front 47-46.
Out of a timeout, Lake Orion went inside to Watterworth, who got free for a lay-up, then got a block on the other end.
Still, Clarkston, down just one, had two good looks from three-point range in the final minute, but Chelsea Kouri couldn’t quite find the mark.
Kouri, a senior who will play at Wayne State next year, was the Wolves? leading scorer during the regular season.
‘She got an open look,? Roberts said. ‘It didn’t drop for them and we got the ball back.?
With a chance to ice the game at the free throw line, LaMerato missed the front-end of a one-and-one, but Kouri was tied up on the rebound by Kimmel, who led the team with seven rebounds.
The possession arrow favored the Dragons, who inbounded to Watterworth.
Her two free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining sealed the win for the Dragons.
Clarkston didn’t get a desperation heave off before the buzzer.
‘Their two-three zone was effective,? Wasilk said. ‘We couldn’t hit shots inside and out.?
Clarkston made 18 of their 48 attempts from the field, including 11 of 28 three-point shots.
‘We do shoot a lot of threes, but normally not that many,? Wasilk noted.
One problem for the Wolves was their inability to get to the free throw line. They had only two attempts (both misses), while Lake Orion was 8-11 at the charity stripe.
As a team, the Dragons shot just under 50 percent (21 of 44) from the floor ? an indication of their unwillingness to settle for outside jump shots (they attempted just five three-pointers).
‘I think we were ready to play,? Wasilk said, ‘But give credit to Lake Orion. They played really well.?