Lake girls extend streak to 14 games
By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Feb. 18, 2003
LAKE – A good start is important in any game. In the playoffs, it's even more so.
The Lake Lady Hornets opened their Class 1A South State game with Mize Monday night with an 11-0 run and never led by fewer than nine points after that in advancing to the 1A South State Final Four, Friday-Saturday.
Lake will open the Final Four with McAdams, a 60-55 winner over Bogue Chitto in another first-round game. McAdams ended Lake's season a year ago with a first-round loss at Lake.
Roxana Rogers scored off the opening tip against Mize and Kim Cox buried a 3-pointer 20 seconds later to put Lake up 5-0 just 25 seconds into the contest.
Two baskets from Courtney Norris and another from Shariece Towner gave the Lady Hornets an 11-0 lead with 5:23 still showing in the first period.
Lake led 20-7 at the end of the first quarter. It was a period in which the Lady Hornets were 8-of-17 from the floor and 3-of-3 at the free-throw line.
Lake took a 37-21 lead into halftime despite suffering several turnovers in the second quarter.
Over the first two quarters, the Lady Hornets were 13-of-27 from the floor and 8-of-9 at the charity stripe.
Mize, which was led by former Decatur coach Barney Finch, scored the first five points of the third quarter, all by Rosemary Green.
Lake responded with a 10-0 run to stretch out to its biggest lead of the night at 49-26 with 4:40 left in the third period. Towner hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the run.
Lake, the Division 6-1A champion, won its 14th-straight game in upping its record to 22-4. The Lady Hornets got 17 points from Rogers, 13 from Towner, 10 from Cox, eight from April Viverette, and six from Arnita Lay.
Mize, 22-7, got 15 points from Green, eight from Misty Packer, and seven from Santanna Agee. The Lady Bulldogs struggled at the free-throw line, making only 19-of-37 attempts.
During the season, Mize lost three times to Dexter, twice to Raleigh at the buzzer, and once to Enterprise-Lincoln. Dexter hammered 6-1A runner-up Sebastopol 71-48 in another first-round matchup.