Lions/Lakers- A Preview

Photo by Alexis Mercer

Regional play opens tonight

By Ken DeLaat

Spring Lake (14-8) v. Newaygo (21-1) 5:30pm, Orchard View HS

The OK Blue is tough. How tough? No less than five schools finished the regular season tied for second place in the uber-competitive conference ruled by West Catholic.

Bajt, Judge, Andree, and Carter are 4 of their top scorers, but the bench is  a long one and Coach Hyde doesn’t shy away from using a lot of players. They rebound well and are one of those teams who know how to create turnovers and know how to convert them into points.
The defense can be stifling…unless they’re playing West Catholic. The Falcons outscored SL in their 2 meetings 148-68.

The Lakers didn’t make it past their first postseason game last year getting bounced out by Montague on the Laker home court. They avenged that loss by taking out the Wildcats in the District final last week.
The teams have 2 common opponents,  Fremont and WMC. Both outscored  the Packers by comfortable margins and both defeated the Warriors in closer games, the Lions by 7 and the Lakers by 8.

The Lions come in having held off an inspired Sparta team to capture their third straight District Crown and they are playing some wicked good ball right now. Goodin is playing like she owns the paint, Fisk has made creating turnovers an art form, Painter steps up with confidence when the team needs a 3 and Swinehart  seems to always be open for the shovel pass underneath. The bench played a major role Friday and they will need them again.
And then there is Long, the sharpshooter with ice in her veins.
The Spartans threw everything they had at them and the Lions never got rattled. When shots didn’t go, they knew they were going to start falling. When the Spartans were finding the open shots, they knew their adjustments would be shutting them down. 
This is a team that knows how to win. Three years of success when it comes to  hauling home hardware does that for you.
All in all this one has the look of being a close one. Again we hope the officials will allow both of the teams to play their game and not have a role in altering the action on the court.

After Friday’s win the Lion players enjoyed a lot of post game celebration. They know what these moments are like and they drank in every bit of it as they have the past three years.
But once it was done, they went back to work like the gritty, blue-collar squad they are. 
Talent & Teamwork. Coaching & Communication. Dedication & Drive.
And miles and miles of Heart.
Go Lions.