LAKERS RIDE INTO TO BROOKFIELD AND COME OUT ON TOP
By Matt Maher
BROOKFIELD, OH – Pymatuning Valley and Brookfield squared off Thursday night in a game that saw the Lakers show a consistent stream of offense and enough defense to keep Brookfield at arms length and win the game 45-42. The Lakers found themselves an early lead and never let it go, showing Brookfield that the home court isn’t always an advantage.
Quarter one saw Pymatuning Valley outscore Brookfield 10-7, The Warriors saw scores from Cailey Wellman with 3 points from a 2 and 1-of-2 free throws made and MaRae Craig who found two scores in the paint. Leah DeMoss accounted for 7 of the 10 Py Valley points with a strong 3 to start off her night and two more scores from within the arc while Zoey Painter found the other 3 from beyond the arc.
Both teams looked about even in the second frame with the two squads recording 9 points each before halftime. Wellman led the Warriors this quarter with 5 more tallies including her first made 3 and a 2. Mya Jumper found 2 points on the field while Craig and Jasmine Hubbard both went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe. The Lakers saw Painter find another triple while Sadie Paul, Jolene Sharp and Mae Struna all found 2 points on the field.
Both teams went into double digit scoring out of the break with Pymatuning Valley staying on top of Brookfield this time 17-12. Hubbard and Wellman both found 4 points all from within the arc while Craig found 2 more points and Jumper went a perfect 2-for-2 from the line. If you want a lot of scoring from one player, you look towards Zoey Painter who went off with 11 points with 4 2’s and a huge 3! Paul found 5 more points this frame as well with a 2 and a 2.
The Lakers slowed down their offensive production while Brookfield cranked up the pressure and pushed themselves within one score but unfortunately for the Warriors their 14-9 fourth wouldn’t be enough to overcome the Lakers lead. Pymatuning Valley saw Sharpe put up 5 points with a 2 and a decent 3-for-4 from the line while Kelsie Britton and Taryn Tisch both found 2’s. The huge comeback effort was led by Mya Jumper who found 10 of the 14 points with two 3’s, a 2 and 2-of-3 free throw sunk. Craig added two more points while Wellman went 2-for-2.
The Lakers never truly lost control of this game despite what that 4th quarter score might tell you, they played a strong offensive game and refused to leave Brookfield with much room to breathe on offense. Zoey Painter led all scorers with an impressive 17 points on the night and is a big reason for her team’s success. Cailey Wellman and Mya Jumper both finished with 14 points for the Warriors and showed great leadership in a tough loss. Pymatuning Valley (12-6) will be back at home on February 12th to take on the Jefferson Area Falcons at 6:15Pm while Brookfield (8-13) look to finish off the regular season at Newton Falls on February 12th at 6:00PM.
