Lancers feast on home cooking

Lake Park coach Chris Fruehling said his girls were excited to play their first home game Tuesday.

You can say that again, coach.

The Lancers peeled off the first 16 points against South Elgin en route to a 73-32 smothering of the Storm at the Fenton/Elk Grove/Lake Park Thanksgiving Tournament in Roselle.

"We came out with a lot of intensity, ready to play," said Lake Park senior Samantha Arnold, who had 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. "We took it from the start and played all four quarters."

Michigan recruit Arnold was far from a one-trick pony for the Lancers (3-1). Sarah Drozdowski had 16 points and 6 rebounds, and Devin Johnston 10 points and 5 boards.

"We had a great team win," Fruehling said. "It was exciting to see everybody contribute."

Arnold said it is a big boost to her having Johnston back from an ACL injury she suffered midway through last year.

"She's a huge presence in the lane," Arnold said. "It makes defenses play us honest."

The Lancers' matchup zone, with the 6-foot-3 Arnold roaming the paint, had South Elgin in stitches from the start. The Storm missed its first nine shots before a Genevieve Johnson 3-pointer. Lake Park also forced 29 turnovers.

"The matchup definitely worked well," Arnold said. "I don't think they had an answer for it. We switch it up quite a bit, depending on what the other team gives us."

Freshman guard Becca Smith and Sarah Havemann each scored 8 points to lead South Elgin (2-2), which draws Lake Park in its Upstate Eight Conference opener next week.

"It's one of those games I'd like to forget quickly," South Elgin coach Tim Prendergast said. "We just got off to a poor start and it deflated us. We never really recovered."