Laconia battles back to beat Lakeland

It wasn't always pretty, but it was enough.

Laconia made enough shots and got enough stops to earn a 62-58 win against Lakeland in the Sentry Classic on Thursday afternoon at UW-Stevens Point.

After hitting eight 3-pointers in the first half, the Spartans (7-1) cooled off in the second half and had to grind out the close win against the Thunderbirds, which are ranked No. 10 in Division 2.

"We found a way and it was a gritty performance because we didn't shoot the ball very good, especially in the second half, we had a hard time getting points," Morgan said. "To our girls' credit, we didn't panic. We've been in situations like this before."

Laconia only hit four 3s in the second half but were able to get the ball inside working against Lakeland's size. The Thunderbirds (7-3) have three players listed at 6-foot-1 and had all three on the floor on occasion while running a zone defensively.

Lakeland outscored Laconia 22-12 to start the second half, giving the Thunderbirds their first lead since the opening two minutes of the game.

About midway through the second half, Laconia worked its way through its offensive slump and started to get the ball into the high post to cutting players, such as Tierney Madigan and Eva Engel.

Morgan said when the team moves the ball well, offense can be easy.

"When we moved the ball the way we should move the ball and we're capable of it, we got looks and we scored buckets," Morgan said. "Too many times, we were holding the ball and letting the defense reset."

Laconia went on an 11-2 run in the final four minutes to take a 58-52 lead, which it would not surrender.

Senior Payton Morgan hit six 3s and had a game-high 19 points; she made three triples in each half.

Payton, who has made 14 3s in the past four games, said she thinks when the team passes well, it results in better shooting.

"I think our ball movement has gotten a lot better," Payton said. "Tonight, maybe it wasn't our best showing of ball movement because they were in a zone, but lately our movement off the ball has been amazing."

Payton also led the defensive effort against Lakeland senior Kristina Ouimette, who is committed to play at UW-Green Bay next year. She and her teammates held Ouimette to 6 first-half points and 22 in the game.

Ouimette came into the game averaging more than 34 per game.

"I thought we did a really good job on her," Payton said. "As a team, we held her to way less points than what her average normally is.

"The gameplan was 'all eyes on her'. There's other players that can make plays, but we can always scramble on the backside."

Tierney Madigan chipped in 15 for Laconia. She scored 9 in the second half with most of them coming in crunch time, getting into the heart of the zone.

Madigan said the team has gotten confidence from the challenging nonconference schedule, which has included ranked teams in Divisions 1, 2 and 3.

"[Morgan] knows we're a great team as well," Madigan said. "He knows we can play with all these teams and we're better than a lot of these teams if we play our best basketball.

"He has a lot of confidence in us, and I just feel like that gives us the confidence to go beat these teams."

PHOTO GALLERY: Laconia vs. Lakeland girls basketball - 12/27/2024