Lady Lakers Fall in MSAC Tournament Championship Game to Onondaga

SYRACUSE, NY. – The Lady Lakers stood one victory away from claiming the 2012-13 MSAC Championship crown on Saturday. The team standing in their way of it was the #7 nationally ranked Onondaga CC Lady Lazers.

Entering play ranked second in the tournament, Finger Lakes, in the weekend contest, paired off with the host Lady Lazers for the third time this season. Onondaga, seeded first, won its first two battles with the visiting Lady Lakers in the regular season. In the third meeting between both of these conference members, a victory would once again land in favor of the Lady Lazers.

In a game that saw Onondaga register a fifteen-point, 35-20 halftime lead, Finger Lakes, fresh off of a semi-final round win over Jefferson CC on Friday (2/22), would fall short, 72-55. The Lady Lakers, despite registering three scorers in double figures, were denied a conference championship title.

Onondaga played a solid pair of half's both offensively and defensively. The Lady Lazers, who followed up their 35 first half points with 37 second half points, shot 49 percent from the floor all while tallying 49 rebounds and 28 assists as a team. In addition to their scoring, rebounding, and passing, Onondaga recorded 13 steals and 9 blocks as a squad.

Finger Lakes, despite the defeat, received 13 points, 12 points, and 11 points from Casi Strait, Casey Dean, and Jordan Smith respectively. Smith, in addition to her scoring, added 10 rebounds and 4 blocks – both of which were team-high's.

Kelli McCauley added 7 points for the Lady Lakers while Finger Lakes point guard Julia Pagano chipped in with 6 assists, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals (team-high) in the road contest.

Leading Onondaga in the scoring department with a game-high 21 points was Jenna Johnson. She was one of four Lady Lazers who scored in double figures. Alexandra Taylor, in 19 minutes off of the bench, supplied Onondaga with 16 points on 8-13 shooting. Both Nacirema Mann and Kaitlynne Knapp each contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds apiece for the Lady Lazers.

Johnson, along with Lauren Roy, each doled out 6 assists apiece for Onondaga. Knapp, on top of her scoring and rebounding, put claim to a game-high 6 blocks in the title game. Adding 5 assists and a team-high 4 steals for the Lady Lazers was Kayla Kibling.