Lake Park rolls over Glenbard East

For as long as Lake Park's Lisa Smith and Glenbard East's Nicole Miller have been coaching their girls basketball teams, they have never matched up head-to-head before Tuesday night.

The Lancers provided Glenbard East with a rather chilly welcome, grabbing a 19-point halftime lead before eventually cruising to a 55-39 nonconference victory in Roselle.

"We both talked before the game that being as close as we are and the schools that we play, it's kind of surprising (this) is the first time we've met," Smith said. "I'm glad we have them on the schedule."

Lake Park (5-1) jumped out to a 17-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, thanks in large part to junior center Samantha Arnold. Arnold scored 9 points in the first quarter, ranging all around the court to keep the Rams' defense honest.

"She's just more versatile," Smith said of Arnold's progression thus far as a junior. "She's inside, she's outside, she understands the game well, (and) she's a great team player. She's very willing to find other kids when she's getting double-teamed or she doesn't have the shot."

Arnold dropped in another 7 points in the second quarter as Lake Park extended its lead to 35-16 at the break.

"We were really confident," Arnold said of her team's halftime mindset. "Our main goal was to play a good four quarters."

Once Lake Park grabbed its sizable lead, Smith tried to make sure the Lancers didn't lose their focus.

"The thing for us is that once we get a lead, we need to learn how to continue to keep a lead, and not just play," Smith said. "That was our goal coming out in the third quarter, (to) keep the momentum and keep the intensity and continue to play at the level we were playing at."

Glenbard East (3-3) recovered well in the second half, outscoring the Lancers 23-20 across the final two quarters.

However, the 19-point halftime deficit proved too much for Glenbard East.

"They were able to kind of rattle us. We were not composed in our offensive sets, and defensively, we were just trying to find a rhythm to guard their players," Miller said. "I thought we definitely picked it up in the second half. Those are adjustments that I wanted them to make, and they made those adjustments."

Jackie Foreman and Kelsey Taylor led the Rams with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Arnold led all scorers with 22 while adding 8 rebounds.