Women’s Basketball – Monpere and Strait Lead Lady Lakers to Road Win
SANBORN, NY. – The Lady Lakers (1-3) put a screeching halt to an early season three-game losing streak last night by conquering a 68-56 road victory over Niagara County CC.
Finger Lakes set the tone of the game in the first half as it took a commanding 35-22 lead into recess. Niagara County, however, did an excellent job of hanging around in the contest post intermission. In the second half, it outscored the visiting Lady Lakers – 34-33.
The hosts – the Lady Thunderwolves – playing in what was their first game of the 2012-13 season – showed great signs of resiliency in the matchup – despite falling.
Summarizing up team statistics – Finger Lakes outshot Niagara County from the field – 43% - 39% – as well as from the free throw line – 77% - 50%.
The Lady Thunderwolves may not have won the offensive battle – however they did stick with the Lady Lakers on the defensive end of the court – where they managed to outrebound FLCC – 42-37. Steals went to FLCC – 15-11 – and – blocked shots favored Niagara County – 8-0.
The Lady Lakers – with the win – recorded their first victory of the young season – behind a trio of double digit scorers.
Finger Lakes, playing in its fourth consecutive game away from its campus (to start the season), was led offensively by the breakout performance of Britany Monpere. A 5'9" sophomore forward, Monpere accounted for 21 points on the evening. In addition, she added four rebounds and four steals to go along with her barrage of points. Overall, Monpere went 8 for 14 from the field.
Lady Lakers guard Casi Strait also turned in a solid offensive performance as she delivered a 19-point (off 8-18 shooting) effort on the court on Tuesday.
A third Lady Laker also entered the double-digit scoring column last night. Joining Monpere and Strait in the column with an 11-point game was sophomore guard Kelli McCauley. McCauley's points came with a perfect night from the free throw lane – where she turned in a flawless 4 for 4 effort.
FLCC received a pair of 7-point contributions out of forward Julie Brooks and guard Alexis Maiorana. Brooks served as the games' leader in rebounding as she pulled down 12 boards in the away meeting.
Julia Pagano paced the Lady Lakers in the assists column with her game-high eight dimes. Additionally, she notched a game-high five steals.
Niagara County took a list of positives away from its first game of the season. They learned that forward Jessica Curry could potentially be seen as a consistent scoring threat game in and game out. Curry, a 6'1" sophomore, dropped a game-high 22 points on the Lady Lakers in the loss – thanks to a 9 for 17 shooting night from the field. Additionally, she poured in 11 rebounds – capping off a double-double.
The Lady Thunderwolves also received a solid boost from their bench in the home matchup. Coming off of the pine and delivering 14 points for Niagara County was forward Nthanda Longwe.
Kristine Ripson tacked on 8 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Thunderwolves.
The Lady Lakers will now head home for their next four games. In their first contest of the season at Putt Moore Court, which is scheduled for tomorrow, they will take on Mohawk Valley CC at 6:00 p.m. Mohawk – as of today – is ranked eighth in the nation.