West junior guard/forward Abby Prohaska, a University of Notre Dame commit, scored 18 points and the Firebirds capitalized on a rash of Thunderhawk turnovers for a 68-12 Greater Miami Conference win at East.
Junior forward Jasmine Ballew also reached double figures with 11 points for West (6-1, 4-1 GMC), which went into the game leading the conference in scoring with an average of 61 points per game and had scored 75 points in each of its last two games since its only loss (44-42) to Mason on Dec. 3.
“Losing that game to Mason when it was so tight was kind of an eye-opener for us,” Prohaska said. “It helped pull us together as a team.”
East (1-6, 1-3) committed 25 turnovers in its fourth consecutive loss since beating Hamilton 56-36 on Dec. 3.
West coach Andy Fishman, who coached his third straight game since missing the Mason contest following eye surgery, was especially pleased with the Firebirds’ defense.
“They’re totally buying into what we’re trying to do,” he said, happy to see his team charged with just eight fouls. “They showed good pressure and poise. We didn’t commit a lot of fouls. We call it playing defense inside our bodies, not inside theirs, and the girls finished. We were very unselfish, making the extra pass.”
The Thunderhawks were unable to build on the momentum generated by a heart-stopping end to the junior varsity game. Sophomore guard Logan Fox swished a 50-foot heave at the buzzer to give East an improbable 46-43 win.
That marked the only time in the game the Thunderhawks led, and they trailed by as many as 16 points. Fox led both teams with 16 points.
“We’ve got a lot of young kids playing,” first-year East varsity coach Gideon Dudgeon said. “We’ve had a ton of injuries, but we’re not into using that as an excuse. There’s no quit in the girls. I told them I’d be disappointed if they didn’t come to play. We’ve just got to continue to improve. They come in and work hard, and that’s all I can ask.”
With Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw sitting in the bottom row of seats at midcourt across from the benches, the 5-foot-10 Prohaska wasted no time getting the rout started, stealing the ball near the baseline at the Thunderhawks’ end and going coast-to-coast for a layup and a 2-0 Firebirds lead in the first 20 seconds after tipoff.
That was the first of seven East turnovers in the first quarter, which ended with the Firebirds leading 17-0, including 10 points off turnovers.
West pushed the lead to 27-0 before Jessica Motley got East on the scoreboard, sinking a free throw with 2:01 left before halftime. The Thunderhawks turned the ball over nine more times in the second quarter, helping the Firebirds take a 33-1 halftime lead.
Senior guard Jasmine Floyd logged East’s first field goal, swishing a 3-pointer from the right wing with 4:01 left in the third quarter. Floyd finished with a team-high seven points for the Thunderhawks.
Both teams are back in action at home Saturday afternoon, West vs. Colerain and East vs. Princeton.
Lakota West 17-16-23-12—68
Lakota East 0-1-7-4—12
LAKOTA WEST (6-1, 4-1 GMC): Bryana Henderson 2 0 4, Juliauna Howard 1 0 2, Madisyn Oxley 3 2 8, Emma Haynes 2 0 4, Sarah Jones 3 0 9, Alexandra Haar 2 0 5, Christine Laritz 1 0 2, Jasmine Ballew 3 5 11, Nevaeh Dean 2 1 5, Abby Prohaska 7 4 18. Totals: 26 10 68
LAKOTA EAST (1-6, 1-3 GMC): Jessica Motley 0 1 1, Jasmine Floyd 3 0 7, Shaniyah Reese 0 2 2, Secret Hughes 1 0 2. Totals: 4 3 12
3-pointers: LW 6 (Jones 3, Oxley 2, Haar), LE 1 (Floyd)
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