Loogootee Jr-Sr High School

Lady Lions Open Season with 53-40 Win over Wood Memorial It was a solid night for the Lady Lions Varsity squad as they opened their season at home with a 53-40 victory over Blue Chip Conference opponent Wood Memorial. This year’s Lady Lions feature a youthful core, starting two juniors, two sophomores, and a freshman, with several other underclass players contributing off the bench. The inexperience showed early as Loogootee fell behind 9-23 midway through the second quarter despite a deep three from freshman Lydia Hawkins giving them an early 3-2 lead. The comeback began with a smooth pick-and-roll from Shaylee Graber to Hawkins for a bucket, followed by a pair of Alexis Heckard free throws. A Sophia Toy steal led to an assist on an Alaina Diamond three-pointer, cutting the deficit to 16-23. A Diamond free throw and a Hawkins offensive rebound put-back brought the Lady Lions within four, and a Toy three-pointer followed by a breakaway layup capped a 15-0 run to give Loogootee a 24-23 halftime lead. The momentum continued into the third quarter, fueled by seven points from Diamond, stretching the Lady Lions’ surge to a 24-5 run heading into the fourth. A Toy triple pushed the lead to 38-29, and an Ava Jeffers driving layup made it 43-34. From there, Loogootee closed things out strong for the 53-40 win. Alaina Diamond led the Lady Lions with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Sophia Toy added 14 points, while freshman Lydia Hawkins contributed a solid debut performance with 7 points and 9 rebounds. The Varsity moves to 1-0 on the season and are back in action this Thursday at Eastern Greene. The JV fell in their first game 13-16 and move to 0-1 on the season. They will play two quarters again at Eastern Greene, starting at 6:00 on Thursday.