Basketball Recap: Malina Lape and Leah Shappell Secure Win for Leo

Leo won the last time they faced Prairie Heights and things went their way on Tuesday too. The Leo Lions came out on top against the Prairie Heights Panthers by a score of 51-39.

Leo was led to victory by Leah Shappell and Malina Lape. Shappell went 6 of 13 on her way to 18 points along with six steals and six blocks, while Lape went 7 for 11 from beyond the arc en route to 21 points. The dominant performance gave Lape a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mackenzie Collins, who posted six points in addition to five rebounds and four steals.

Leo smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in seven consecutive games.

Prairie Heights' loss came despite strong showings from Emily McCrea and Avery Certain. McCrea went 6 of 14 on her way to 14 points along with eight boards and five assists, while Certain went 7 of 10 on her way to 16 points. That was a full 35.9% of Prairie Heights' points, marking the sixth time in a row she's put up more than a third of the team's points.

Leo's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 9-7. As for Prairie Heights, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-10 record this season.

Leo and Prairie Heights could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps Indiana Rankings. Leo (ranked 168th) will meet Norwell (ranked 19th) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Similarly, Prairie Heights (ranked 289th) will meet Angola (ranked 116th) at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.