Lakeland Leads whole game to Win gold over Keyano
The ACAC Conference Championship Gold Medal game took place between the Lakeland Rustlers and the Keyano Huskies. The all North matchup opened with the Keyano Huskies winning the tip and gaining 3 chances to score but coming up empty. Lakeland came back down the floor but were stopped in their tracks and the Huskies tried to transition quickly. The Huskies continued to miss, giving the Rustlers the first chance to score hitting a 3. Still struggling to find the basket, the Huskies remained scoreless for the first 3:30 before finally butting 2 on the board. The Rustlers in the meantime had scored four and led 7-2 in the early going. Defense on both side stepped up and another scoreless 2 minutes ticked off the clock to show the same score at the midway point of the quarter. On the Rustlers next trip down the floor they worked the ball inside scoring another quick basket going up 9-2 and forcing the Huskies to take a timeout. Lakeland was able to come up with a steal on the first play out of the break, running the floor for 2 fast break points before the Huskies could respond. 11-4 on the scoreboard as the clock showed 3:00, the Huskies continued to look inside for points but were coming up empty. The Rustlers were struggling to pull away however, as the Huskies were controlling the offensive glass. Another quick break saw Lakeland go up further with back to back buckets and a 15-4 lead. A goregeous Drive and Dish from Tori Dugan to Brianne Hergott added another 2 to the Rustler lead. a quick burst in the final minute as well as a buzzer beater 3 saw the Rustlers explode at the end of the frame going up 22-4 at the break.
The second quarter opened up with a Rustler steal after the Huskies struggled working the ball around on offense. They stepped up on the back end getting a steal of their own and getting 2 fast break points from Joy Victor. Immediately the Rustlers responded running the floor and making points in the paint. The score read 24-6 until a Kaleigh Sellars 3 dropped for Keyano getting them within one of double digits. The Rustlers easily responded again making more points in the paint and going up 26-9. This saw Keyano take a timeout with 6:37 on the clock. The Huskies hit a single at the line and finally hit 10 points 4 minutes in the second quarter. They added another 2 quickly on a steal, but again Lakeland ran the floor and made a quick layup. Again the Huskies were able to convert on another trip down the floor and narrow the lead. Lakeland came back down the floor to hit a deep 3 and go up 31-14 with 4:00 on the clock. The Huskies Joy Victor completed the 3 point play for Keyano on the next trip down the floor. The Huskies slowly chipped away in the later minutes as Keyano entered bonus early. As the clock continued to wind down the in the half the Rustlers were able to stay out front leading by 10, 33-23 with 1:25 on the clock. The Rustlers took their first timeout and headed back to the court looking to convert in the offensive end. A quick 2 points saw the Rustlers extend the lead, but on the other end the Huskies earned another trip to the line. Hitting one of two Moyan Toure was struggling from the stripe for the Huskies who remained down 11 as the Rustlers headed to the line on the other end. Ally Pilgrim hit one of two but an offensive board from Hergott and a put-back made it a 3 point affair. As the clock wound down to 0, the Rustlers were ahead 38-25 as the teams headed to the dressing rooms.
The second half got underway with the Keyano Huskies scoring after a quick defensive stop. The Rustlers not wanting to give up any ground responded quickly with another basket in the paint. Keyano had made some adjustments in the room and scored again quickly cutting the lead. Lakeland did not roll over but rather came back hard to score 2 tough buckets to stay ahead. The scoring was coming at a much faster pace this half with the score 31-44 just 4 minutes into the frame. The Huskies reduced their deficit to 10 on a 3 pointer from Tyshaine Page, but again the Rustlers ran the floor for 2 quick points. with half the frame gone, the score read 46-34 in a fast paced affair. Toure started to heat up for Keyano Grabbing boards on both ends and scoring her 12th. The Rustlers were spreading out their offence more and getting good looks inside for most of the game. they were up 50-38 as the clock ticked past 2:30 left in the frame. A Keyano miss gave the Rustlers a chance to extend which they did with Angela Baran hitting a 3. The Rustlers started to use more of the shot clock as time ticked down in the frame. Both teams going cold in the late frame as the defence heated up resulted in a 53-38 Rustlers lead at the buzzer.
The fourth quarter started with the Rustlers and Huskies missing on their first trip down the floor. Another set of misses saw the first 2:30 run off the clock without any scoring. The First basket came at 7:30 on the clock with Joy Victor coming up with a steal, running the floor to finish for Keyano. Seeming to open something, the Rustlers came right back down the floor to score their first of the frame, keeping their 15 point advantage. On the Huskies next trip down, they got to the line but again Toure's struggles at the line continued missing both. Rustler Hergott got to the line going hard to the basket and hit one to extend the lead to 16. Huskie Kaleigh Sellars hit a corner 3 in response and narrowed the lead. Lakeland turned the ball over right away and the Huskies headed back to the line. With 5:08 on the clock the Huskies took a timeout down 43-56. Coming out of the timeout, the Huskies again missed both at the charity stripe, giving the Rustlers momentum to come down the court for a quick score. Keyano answered but once again Lakeland maintained their 15 point lead as more time ran off the clock. With 3:27 on the clock Keyano took another timeout still down 45-60. The Rustlers started to take their time and use the clock while the Huskies looked for fast points on each trip down. This speed caused a few errors and the Huskies turned the ball over twice in a row allowing Lakeland to extend the lead to 19. The Huskies were able to hit a 3 to make the score 48-64 but the clock was becoming more of an issue. Toure got back to the line for Keyano this time hitting both and reducing the Rustler lead to 14. With less than a minute the game was all but over. The Rustlers dribbled out the clock to take a 64-50 gold Medal win.
The ACAC Players of the game were Joy Victor for Keyano and Brianne Hergott for Lakeland.
The ACAC Conference Championship all stars were Joy Victor and Moiyan Toure for Keyano and Jaden Cook and Brianne Hergott
The Tournament MVP was Rustler Tori Dugan