MANCHESTER • Even though Parkway South was going toe-to-toe with visiting Lafayette for the first nine minutes of Friday's battle for the Suburban West Conference crown, the Lancers looked poised to break away at any minute.
They soon showed they did have another gear and quickly zoomed away from the Patriots.
Sparked by a number of steals and transition baskets, Lafayette scored 21 points in four minutes, 41 seconds in the second quarter. The run loomed large as the Lancers rolled to a 72-42 win and their second straight league crown.
"It feels great," said Lancers guard Kayla Hall, who had 14 points, one of four Lafayette players who reached double digits. "We set (winning conference) as a goal at the beginning of the year. We just came out ready to go."
The win, Lafayette's 13th straight, helped the Lancers (21-4, No. 5 in the STLhighschoolsports.com large-schools rankings) finish 8-0 in league play.
The victory may have come at a big price, however. Senior standout guard Jordynn Martin went down with a knee injury in the middle of the third quarter and never returned to action after scoring 14 points and adding six assists. Martin's availability for next week's district tournament at Parkway South was not immediately known.
"She didn't feel it pop, which is a good sign," Lafayette coach Jennifer Porter said. "But obviously it twisted pretty good. We're just going to ice it down tonight and see what happens in the morning."
Down 52-20 at the time of Martin's injury, Parkway South (13-13 and 7-1) went on a 12-2 run to cut the Lancers' lead to 54-32 with 1:30 left in the third quarter. Lafayette responded with a 18-10 run to close out the game.
"You have to give credit to our kids," Porter said. "They stepped it up. We answered back. We didn't just lay down and die because (Martin) was out. That's what kids have done for us all year long."
They certainly showed their mettle in the strong run they had in the latter part of the first half. Ahead 16-13 at the time, they got points from five different players, including eight from Martin, as they finished the first half strong.
"We got some key steals and really gritty defensive plays to get us some fast-break points," Porter said. "Hannah Finley knocked down a whole bunch of baseline jumpers, so you have to give her credit, too."
Finley, who had a game-high 18 points on nine-of-13 shooting from the floor and added 12 rebounds, was consistent in both halves, netting 10 in the first and eight in the second. Ashley Hipp finished with 16 points, 11 of them in the final two quarters.
"Well, I knew I had to step up because I know (Jordynn) makes a lot of plays, (and does) a lot of good things," Hipp said. "But I know, not only me, but Hannah Finley did really well tonight. I mean, good passes made the shots, so I've got to give it up to my teammates and everyone who passed it to me."
After struggling to make shots in the first half, the Patriots rebounded in that area in the final 16 minutes. Tara Timpone heated up, tallying 11 of her team-high 14 points in the second half. Natalie Williams also stepped up her game in the final two quarters, chalking up eight of her 12 points.
The Lancers did a fine job slowing down red-hot Patriots standout forward Becca Steins. The junior finished with just five points —11.7 below her average.
"They outplayed us," Parkway South coach Thomas Williams said. "They shot the ball extremely well, we didn't shoot the ball that well. You can credit them. They're a good club. They deserved to win tonight."
Williams was pleased his team battled back after seeing an opening with Martin on the bench.
"I'm proud of the girls," Williams said. "A lot of people at the beginning of the season wouldn't have picked us to be 7-1 in this conference. I'm disappointed, and I know the girls are, too. We still have some big things to shoot for at the end of the year."
