FARMINGTON HILLS ? Lake Orion’s girls? basketball team put on great effort last week against North Farmington trying to capture the OAA White Division title in a game Coach Steve Robert called one of the most intense battles he has seen in his long coaching career.
Had the girls won the game, it would have put them in contention in a first-place tie and it also would have been Robert’s 200th victory as a varsity coach.
Unfortunately, the lady Dragons fell 40-36.
On Tuesday, as The Review was going to press, Roberts and his team were traveling to Royal Oak in their efforts to win the milestone game for their coach.
‘The intensity level I saw tonight was the highest I have seen in six years,? Roberts said. ‘It was a great atmosphere for a championship game. Both teams had the desire to be in first place. ?
The lady Dragons started slow and trailed 15-4 at the end of the first quarter. The lady Raiders hit two three-point shots near the end of the quarter to take the big lead. The Dragons chipped away at the score and trailed by 10 at halftime. In the third quarter, each team continued to battle at North Farmington’s lead would vary between six and 10 points more of the way.
The Dragons cut the lead to 31-26 with 6:52 left in the fourth quarter and remained close as the teams traded buckets. Cameron Coltrin hit a three-pointer, was fouled and made the free throw, with 1:35 left to bring the Dragons to within 36-34.
An intense Raider defense forced some turnovers as the Dragons could not overtake North Farmington in the final 90 seconds.
Freshman Maddie Novak was leading the first-half efforts for Lake Orion. She had 11 points in the half and finished with 24 points. The Dragons missed their team captain and leader Evelyn Wischmeyer who was out sick with a high fever.