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Lakeview clinches AAC National Division crown
By Doug Chapin
CORTLAND
It’s rare when a basketball coach gets excited about his team not shooting the ball, but that was the case Thursday night for Lakeview High girls basketball coach Adam Lewis.
The Bulldogs clinched the All-American Conference National Division championship with a 49-40 victory over Girard and it was a decision late in that game that caught Lewis‘ attention.
“Midway through the fourth quarter we were running our offense and we passed up a shot,” he said. “Where we were in the game we wanted to hold on to the ball. That’s when I realized they understand the game, they know what they’re doing now. That was the highlight of the night for me to see them not take a shot.”
Sophomore Allie Pavlik scored 18 points and senior Ali Gagne tallied 17 for Lakeview, and the pair combined for 15 of Lakeview’s points in the decisive 20-11 third quarter.
“This is huge,” Lewis said about the Bulldogs’ league title. “Lakeview hasn’t done this in six or seven years and the girls had set that as one of their season goals. It was a special night for us, we’re pretty happy about it.”
Lakeview (14-4, 9-0 National) defeated Girard (12-7, 5-4) by a 62-47 score in mid-January but Thursday’s contest was a different story. The Indians scored the last seven points of the first half to trail 21-20 at the break.
“They’re number one in our league and we tried to get the girls fired up about playing Lakeview, the first time they handled us pretty good,” Girard coach Andy Saxon said. “I thought we did a lot better tonight.
“We didn’t want to get in a transition game, they’re tall and they’re quick. We wanted to get them in a half-court game. Once we got them in a half-court game we were right there. But we gave up too many transition lay-ups. We turned the ball over a little too much.”
In the third quarter the Bulldogs used an 8-1 run in the final three minutes, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Gagne, to open a 41-31 advantage. Pavlik had a great assist on the play, one of five she recorded on the night to go with five steals.
“Allie Pavlik really pushes our defense and when she’s able to get a steal it really just kind of sparks everything and gets us going,” Lewis said.
Girard never got closer than eight points in the final quarter. Sophomore Bree Bishop led the Indians with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
“They pressured us and we made some bad decisions,” Saxon said. “Once they take the ball from you they’re going to score. They’re quick and athletic and that’s basically what we tried to avoid, that baseline to baseline game.”
“Playing a team a second time is always more difficult,” Lewis said. “Their defense was pretty good tonight, we really had to focus on knocking down some shots, creating some plays, taking care of the ball. I think that’s what we did the second half, that was the difference.”