TRACY — It didn’t take long for the Lakeview girls basketball team to find its groove Friday night, defeating the Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Panthers in a 66-44 runaway victory. 

Both teams fought tooth and nail to start the first half until the Lakers’ defense slowed down the Panthers, giving them a 7-0 run. Brynn Stensrud’s ability to find scoring opportunities or flaws in the Panther’s defense helped her rise throughout the game. Everyone on the Laker’s squad would find ways to score; especially in the paint.  

“That was our point coming into this game,” Lakers head coach Mike Imes said. “We knew coming into this game that we had a size advantage. We wanted to dominate on both sides of the board, and tonight I think we did that.” 

Size was a big part of the Lakers’ victory. Anah Schmidt, a 6-foot-1 junior had 15 points and tied Savanna Louwagie for third on the team with seven rebounds, trailing only Aleiah Rosenau’s eight and Carmen Varpness’ 12. Varpness also had a game-high seven offensive rebounds.

Rosenau also scored 17 points in the Lakers’ Thursday night win over YME.

Turnovers cost the Panthers a lot of their possessions as Lakeview finished the game with 19 steals, six from Varpness and four from Stensrud. 

“We kept a good pace with them in those first 10 minutes, but they just tired us so much that first half,” Panthers head coach Derek Ashbaugh. “We turned it over too many times and they took advantage of that and turned it into transition points.” 

The Lakers went on another 13-0 run to add salt to the wound to end the first half. The Panthers looked for some hope in the hole they were in. Their 3-point shooting ability kept their hopes high, but turnovers decided their fate. 

“We had a lot of scoring opportunities to start the second half,” Ashbaugh said. “We found ways to get an open shot, but their defense was not helping us find a flow offensively.” 

Both teams played a sloppy game with a lot of fouls. But neither seemed to find their rhythm behind the free throw line. Both coaches agreed on better shooting and cleaner plays. 

“We shot well during the first half, but we slowed down during the second half,” Imes said. “Our goal was to get behind the line at least 20 times, which we did. We shot around 62%, so I can live with that number.” 

Lakers’ Brook Gunlogson used her speed to her advantage and scored 12 for the Lakers. She rallied the Lakers through the second half, using her ability to read a play and speed shocked the Panthers team. 

“She’s super fast. She went to [the state track and field meet] for the 100-meter dash last year as a sophomore. She’s tough and smart, and we really needed that in the game. She delivered for sure,” Imes said 

The Panthers had trouble scoring throughout the whole game. Allison Edward led the team with 11 points. Raelynn Schreier also scored six points and five blocks. 

Size and speed led the Lakers (15-6) to another victory in a promising season. They will host Wabasso (1-21) on Monday, tip-off is set at 7:30. 

The Panthers (3-15) will travel to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (9-11) on Tuesday, tip-off is set at 7:30.