Lakeland is on a four-game streak of home losses, Westview a four-game streak of away losses, but someone's luck will change on Tuesday. The Lakeland Lakers will host the Westview Warriors at 6:00 p.m. Westview took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Lakeland, who comes in off a win.
Lakeland is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Bethany Christian 58-21 on Saturday. The victory was some much needed relief for the Lakers as it spelled an end to their four-game losing streak.
Lakeland's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Dulce Canedo, who went 6 of 9 on her way to 17 points in addition to five boards and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Zoey Bowman, who posted 13 points along with seven assists and seven boards.
Lakeland was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Westview came up short against Central Noble on Saturday and fell 46-33. While losing is never fun, the Warriors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 241st, while the Cougars are ranked 116th).
Lakeland will need focus on slowing down Janissa Lehman, one of several Westview players who made an impact when they last played. She had ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Olivia Bontrager, who put up five points.
Westview's defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 6-6. As for Lakeland, their win bumped their record up to 3-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Lakeland has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Westview struggles in that department as they've been averaging 23.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Lakeland skirted past Westview 37-34 in their previous matchup back in January. Does Lakeland have another victory up their sleeve, or will Westview turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.