GAINESVILLE — If defense is what carries you in the playoffs, the film of the Lakeview Academy girls 58-36 win over Darlington Thursday night in the second round of the Class A Private playoffs will get plenty of play in future preparations.
The Lady Lions never trailed and smothered the Lady Tigers from nearly end-to-end and start-to-finish forcing 21 turnovers and turning them into 16 points for the game.
“Defensively, we were awesome,” Lakeview coach John Carrick. “Jackie (Allen) in particular. She shut down their top player. We always give her the other team’s best player and she has handled pretty much everyone she has gone against this year.”
Allen, who had 4 points 6 assists, and 3 steals, held leading scorer Caroline Dingler to just 7 points and the Lady Lions held Emmaline Ratledge to just 12 points. Meanwhile, the Lakeview offense showed little signs of rust after the layoff.
With a first-round bye due to winning a region title, many of those teams in Class A can experience a rusty second-round game. The Lady Lions (25-4) bucked that trend against Darlington (18-8) despite a 10-day layoff.
Eliza Snyder poured in 22 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals, Maddy Towles added 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals, and Joelle Snyder had 8 points as Lakeview hit eight 3-pointers and was a blistering 14-of-15 from the free throw line for the game to help propel Lakeview to its first quarterfinals appearance since 2017. Sadie Thrailkill pulled down 11 rebounds.
“You never know sometimes about these long layoffs,” Carrick said. “I thought we shot the ball pretty well. Very pleased overall how we played.”
The game was tied just once at 2-2 before Lakeview used a 12-4 spurt in the first quarter behind Joelle Snyder, who had five points and dished out two assists, to take a 12-4 lead. Lakeview led 20-12 at the end of the first quarter on seven Darlington turnovers and turned up the defensive pressure, even more, forcing nine more for 12 points in the half.
An 8-0 run late in the second quarter pushed Lakeview’s lead to 28-16 by halftime. The Lady Lions blew the game open with a 19-8 third quarter, highlighted by 3-pointers from Joelle Snyder and Towles, who hit a pair, and three free throws from Eliza Snyder for a 47-24 lead.
A pair of Eliza Snyder 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter pushed the Lady Lions’ lead to 53-27, their biggest of the game. Darlington got as close as 18 the rest of the way.
Lakeview moves on to play perennial power Wesleyan next week in the Elite 8 round. The Lady Lions, who are now a perfect 9-0 at home, will play host to the Lady Wolves.
NORTH COBB CHRISTIAN BOYS 80
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 73
The Eagles (17-10) used a big third quarter run to blow open a close game to advance to their seventh straight Elite 8 in Class A Private.
Lakeview Academy (20-9) trailed just 41-39 at halftime but found itself down 59-45 midway through the third quarter following an 18-6 explosion by the Eagles. A streaky shooting team, North Cobb Christian hit three 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the second half after draining just two in the first half.
The Lions did not go quietly, however, chipping away with a 7-2 run to end the period. But a huge sequence sparked by North Cobb Christian’s Caleb Crumley early in the fourth quarter eventually loomed large.
After Adam Cottrell hit a long 3-pointer to open the final period to pull Lakeview within 62-55, Crumley blocked a Cottrell layup attempt that ignited a fastbreak that ended with a Bobby Moore 3-pointer. Crumley blocked another Lakeview shot on the Lions’ ensuing possession and Crumley capped it with a 3-pointer of his own for a 68-55 advantage with 6:40 left.
Lakeview coach Todd Cottrell worried about the Eagles’ height coming in. They had 7 blocks and controlled the boards most of the way.
“We had some good chances that they blocked and we couldn’t get a rebound in some of the big moments,” Cottrell said. “(North Cobb Christian) is a streaky team shooting and they got hot there in the third quarter.”
But Lakeview again responded using a 14-3 run over the next four minutes, fueled by its own defense. The Lions forced five turnovers, which led to 8 points, capped by a pair of Adam Cottrell free throws to get within 71-69 with 2:35 left.
But after a pair of missed free throws by the Eagles’ Moore, Lakeview could not gather the loose rebound for a chance to tie the game trailing 76-73. North Cobb Christian was able to pull away hitting 5-of-10 free throws, including a huge three-point play by Kami Young that resulted in Blake McIntyre fouling out with 1:40 left.
Adam Cottrell finished with 34 points and 10 rebounds and McIntyre had 29 points and 6 assists in their final high school games to pace Lakeview. But no other Lakeview player had more than three, which hindered them in the final minute.
North Cobb Christian tremendous balance as five players scored in double figures. Young led the way with 17, 13 in the second half. Josain Scott had 15, Tremain Davis and Crumley each had 13 points, and Moore finished with 11, all in the second half for the Eagles.
"I'm proud of the kids for fighting and never quitting," Cottrell said. "It's a great group of kids, especially the seniors, who set the record for wins by a class (91) and won three region titles in four years. They'll be very successful in the future I feel."
