A third time was not the charm when Lady Cagers met up with Lake Orion one more time in the first round of play-offs on Monday.
They lost against the Lady Dragons, 44-30, ending the season.
The Wolves knew what to expect going against them and were tougher in this game than the previous two losses to Lake Orion.
‘Our girls battled and I was proud of our girls effort today,? said Coach Tim Wasilk. ‘It always helps when you have seen them a few times. You have a little bit of a feel of what to expect.
‘It is what it is, they are a rough team. They just got the best of us tonight.
Lake Orion was in the lead with nine points before the girls got on the board.
Kaleigh Kenny threw the ball from the middle of the court to Anna Manilla in the corner.
Manilla looked for a way to shoot the ball past defense, and passed the ball to Megan Hastings when she didn’t find one.
Hastings shot it in for 3-points.
The girls scored six more points before ending the first half, 21-9.
‘They did a nice job of taking away our game plan,? said Wasilk. ‘We ended up shooting jumpers and they weren’t falling for us tonight. That’s just part of the game.?
After the break the girls connected more shots with the basket and made a defensive impact to keep the Dragons from scoring.
The girls added 21 points in the last half. Kayla Brimacombe connected two 3-point shots, Kenny and Manilla added one.
The girls finished their regular season last week with two losses.
They lost to West Bloomfield on Feb. 24, 45-33.
Kaleigh Kenny led the team with 11 points. Erica Harris, Kayla Brimacombe and Kenny added a 3-pointer to the score.
They finished the week at home on Friday against Pontiac Northern and lost 60-29.
After ending the first half with only six points scored, the girls came back and found a way past Northern to score 23 points.
Jena Manilla led the team with six points. Megan Hastings connected a 3-point shot with the basket.
The team loses three seniors, Brimacombe, Connor Daugherty and Jena Manilla.
‘I want to thank our seniors for the effort they put forth in the past 2-3 years,? said Wasilk. ‘They did a great job tonight. They did a lot of good things for us this year, a lot of good leadership. We will miss them.?
They have a lot of returning players, most new at the beginning of the season who grew with their knowledge and experience of the game, he said.
The girls finished the season, 7-14 and in fifth place in OAA Red.
The JV team ended their season with an overall record 15-5.