The Langford Area girls basketball squad picked up one win in three starts during the past week, downing Tri-State 59-45 on Monday, falling to North Central 52-38 on Saturday, and losing to Waverly-South Shore 41-35 on Thursday.
The Lady Lions sported a 5-7 record heading into a contest at Warner last night Tuesday, travel to Northwestern for a twin bill with the boys’ squad on Friday, and kick off a four-game home stand by hosting Waubay-Summit on Monday.
“In all three games, we have done some really good things but also have moments where we really need to work on things,” said LA boss Michael Alberts. “Offensively, we have done a really good job of taking care of the ball and finding open shots. We just need to shoot the ball more consistently and finish when we are around the rim.
“Defensively, we have left some good shooters get open looks. We want to make sure we are moving well and helping each other out to limit open shooters and to stop penetration.
“Against Tri-State, we were able to put together our most complete game so far this year,” added Alberts. “We were hitting shots from the outside, which also opened up driving lanes for us. Defensively, we were able to get some stops and force some turnovers. We really stepped it up in the thrid quarter, going on a 14-0 run to start the second half. With our season over half done, we really want to build off of our last game as we head into the back half of our season.”
Langford Area 59
Tri-State 45
Langford Area erased a five-point first quarter deficit to lead 25-20 at intermission and then took charge with a 20-8 outburst in the third stanza.
Paytyn Marlow connected on four treys and laced 23 points to lead the Lady Lions. Eliana Darling added 17 counters and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Alex Darling had 13 points and three assists. Lizzie Gustafson contributed seven boards.
TRI-STATE: Emma Fritz 4 3-5 13, Shali Laurence 5 2-5 12, Icehi Rabbithead 3 0-0 7, Alyvia Geffre 2 0-0 5, Jasmine Owen 1 2-3 4, Taylor Laurence 1 0-2 2, Taylyn Thomas 1 0-0 2, Khloe Smith 0 0-2 0. Totals 17 7-17 45.
LANGFORD AREA: Eliana Darling 7 3-5 17, Paytyn Marlow 8 3-11 23, Clarissa Guy 0 1-2 1, Alex Darling 5 1-2 13, Lizzie Gustafson 2 1-1 5. Totals 22-55 9-21 59.
TS (4-2) 14 20 28 45
LA (5-7) 9 25 45 59
3-point goals – Fritz 2, Rabbithead, Geffre; Marlow 4, A. Darling 2. Total fouls – TS 16, LA 14.
North Central 52
Langford Area 38
North Central led by just five at halftime but boosted that to 12 after three quarters to take charge.
Alex Darling notched 18 points and Eliana Darling and Paytyn Marlow both added nine for LA.
LANGFORD AREA: Clarissa Guy 0 0-2 0, Paytyn Marlow 3 0-0 9, Lizzie Gustafson 1 0-0 2, Alex Darling 6 4-4 18, Eliana Darling 4 1-2 9. Totals 14 5-8 38.
NORTH CENTRAL: Ella Batie 7 0-0 14, Amree Vander Vorst 11 1-1 28, Alaina Dosch 1 0-0 2, Tylee Vander Vorst 1 2-4 5, Carleigh Dosch 0 2-2 2. Totals 20 5-7 52.
LA (4-7) 9 21 28 38
NC (8-5) 15 26 40 52
3-point – Marlow 3, A. Darling 2; A. Vander Vorst 5, A. Dosch, T. Vander Vorst. Total fouls – LA 12, NC 10.
Waverly-SS 41
Langford Area 35
Waverly-South Shore rallied from six points down after three periods to defeat the Lady Lions.
Langford Area led 11-8 after one quarter, trailed 17-16 at halftime, but went on a 17-10 run in the third stanza to lead 33-27 before North Central outscored Alberts’ club 14-2 in the final period.
Alex Darling netted 14 points to lead Langford Area.
WAVERLY-SOUTH SHORE: Brianna Gottschalk 2 0-0 5, Jolene Krantz 2 1-2 6, DaShaya Kuch 0 1-2 1, Jaina Johnson 7 4-4 20, Carlee Mushitz 2 3-8 7, Annie Stricherz 1 0-2 2. Totals 14 9-16 41.
LANGFORD AREA: Clarissa Guy 1 0-0 2, Paytyn Marlow 1 1-2 3, Lizzie Gustafson 4 0-0 8, Alex Darling 5 0-0 14, Eliana Darling 3 0-2 6, Mariah Tosse 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 1-4 35.
WSS (6-4) 8 17 27 41
LA (4-6) 11 16 33 35
3-point goals – Gottschalk, Krantz, Johnson 2; A. Darling 4. Total fouls – WSS 11, LA 17.
