NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA LAKERS
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The Legion Branch 34 U16 Girls fought their way to a gold medal this past weekend at the Niagara Falls tournament.
The girls took their pressure defence to the next level, demoralizing every team they played. And with the offence clicking on all cylinders, their opponents in every game had no answer for the up-tempo Lakers.
In the first game against Pelham Panthers, the girls seemed a little nervous with Pelham staying close after the first quarter. However, the girls shut out the Panthers in the second quarter with pressure defence, as Orillia took a 23-point lead into the halftime break. From there, the girls cruised to a 61-19 victory. Hennessey Langner led the way, scoring 13 points, with Lilja Toland chipping in with 12 points.
With a ticket to the championship game on the line, the girls came up against the Oakville Venom. Taking the early lead the Lakers were able to build an 11-point half-time lead. Once again, the pressure defence led they way and the Lakers took control of the game tiring out their opponents in the second half.
With great teamwork from everyone, the Lakers were victorious 67-26. Top scorers were Hennessey Langner (19 points) and Lilja Toland with 15.
In the final, the Orillia girls came up against the physical hometown squad from Niagara Falls. Leaving nothing to chance, the speed and defence of Orillia was too much for the Red Raiders.
Orillia built a 19-3 first quarter lead, and never looked back on way to a 70-29 victory for the gold. In this game Orillia used a very balanced attack offensively with everyone contributing scoring, and great team defence for the victory.
Members of the Lakers are Mya Erskine, Madison McLaughlin, Emma Thomson, Hennessey Langner, Isabela Fleguel, Lauryn Buchan, Lauren Murphy, Taylor Coon, Ashley Schryer, Lilja Toland and Zoe Peeters.
The Lakers put their undefated 9-0 record on the line when they return to Ontario 'B' League action on Feb. 9 against Markham Elite and Dundas Dynamo.
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