STILLWATER — Tonight the Lake George girls played Warrensburg to try and win a fifth straight Adirondack League title. Senior Graceann Bennett scored 29 to lead the Warriors to a 68-51 victory.
“It was a very competitive game from both teams. Warrensburg is very good in transition and we were able to stop that,” said Coach Rob Tefft.
Lake George had quite a few whistles blown on them early with six team fouls having been committed in the first four and a half minutes. Warrensburg failed to convert this advantage in fouls onto the scoreboard and found themselves down 9-6 in the same stretch of time.
“We just needed to adapt to the fouls that they were calling and I think at the end of the game we really got a handle on that and that helped us grow as a team,” said Graceann Bennett.
It was then that Lake George’s senior forward Graceann Bennett found her rhythm. Bennett was hitting every shot from everywhere with any move she saw fit. She finished the first half with 14 points on just eleven shots. Bennett and her teammates Mikayla Duffy, Alysia Kane and Jade Baker combined for 25 points on the run which put them up 22.
The Warriors got a little sloppy late in the first half. The Warriors committed costly turnovers which allowed the Burgers to run the floor and go on a run of their own. Warrensburg scored eight unanswered points in the last three minutes, cutting their deficit down to 14 points.
Bennett said, “We’re working on perfecting the 32 because we can’t let up. Especially going into Sectionals.”
Both teams came out and dueled in the second half of play. Warrensburg’s Megan Hughes battled with Bennett and the Lake George girls the whole way scoring 12 points. Ultimately the Burgers could not score in volume and found themselves trading buckets with Bennett and the Warriors.
With the win Lake George has won it’s fifth straight Adirondack League Championship. They will not play again until next week when they will begin their Sectional run in a loaded Class C.
“Basketball is all about peaking at the right time. We’re climbing the mountain right now and we’re excited,” said Bennett.
