Arnold, Lancers outshoot Mustangs

Samantha Arnold and her Lake Park teammates were not about to take Downers Grove South lightly.

The two teams squared off for the second time this season Tuesday at the Trinity High School Suburban Holiday Showcase girls basketball tournament.

Behind some lights-out shooting by Arnold, the Lancers took a commanding lead in the first quarter and never looked back en route to a 63-45 victory over the Mustangs in River Forest.

"We knew it is tough to beat a team the second time around so we came out with a lot of intensity," Arnold said. "We showed them."

Arnold poured in 13 of her game-high 25 points in the opening quarter as Lake Park (10-2) stormed to a 24-11 lead. Her points in that period mainly came off jump shots. The junior was also particularly active in the paint on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.

"Sam came out on fire and that helped build confidence for the rest of the team," said Lake Park coach Lisa Smith. "I am pleased with the way they played. They didn't take (the Mustangs) for granted."

In addition to Arnold, Lynsey Ciezki and Jenna Aloia chipped in 8 and 7 points, respectively.

Downers South coach Mike McGinnis felt the quick start by the Lancers took his team out of the game. His squad did rally a bit to pull within 7 points in the second quarter, but a 15-0 Lake Park run that stretched into the third quarter put the game out of reach again.

McGinnis was pleased, however, with the way his team finished. The Mustangs (5-8) outscored the Lancers 14-12 in the final quarter. Smith did have some of her starters sitting on the bench near the end of the game.

Another key for Lake Park was its perimeter defense on Downers South sharpshooters like guards Annie Brashaw and Gianna Pecora. In the last meeting between the teams on Nov. 29, the Mustangs drilled 10 3-pointers, including 5 by Brashaw and 3 from Pecora. The Lancers won that matchup 77-60.

In Tuesday's contest Brashaw and Pecora were held to one 3-pointer apiece as the team sank only four 3-pointers. Brashaw did finish with a team-high 12 points while Pecora added 9 points and DeeDee Scalzetti contributed 8 points.

"(The Lancers) did a much better job of coming out on the perimeter," McGinnis said. "They disrupted the flow of our offense."

"We were trying to prevent the 3-pointer," Arnold added.