Lakers beat up on Southfield, Adams using new zone 'D'

West Bloomfield won two games on the road last week to improve to 13-4 overall and 8-3 in the Oakland Activities Association (OAA) White Division.

The Lakers began the week with a 62-21 win at Southfield on Wednesday, Feb. 9.

West Bloomfield jumped out to a 10-0 lead early and was led by Jailynn Hamilton with 16 points, while Jasmine Mitchell contributed 11 points off the bench.

“We are experimenting with different zone defense looks before we enter tournament play in a couple weeks,” said Lakers Head Coach Steve Larkin. “Our defense was solid and we were able to gain offensive opportunities from defensive effort.”

The Lakers then followed up with a 57-37 win at Rochester Adams on Thursday, Feb. 10.

Sydni Davis led the Lakers with 15 points while fellow sophomore Kheri Motley had a breakout game with 10 points and 8 rebounds and senior Taylor Gunn had 8 points and 6 rebounds.

“I was extremely happy with this win over Adams as they have been playing good ball lately,” Larkin said. “We went to another zone look defensively which held them to 4-for-26 shooting behind the three-point line, which worked out in our favor.”

“I think our girls knew the importance of playing a solid 32 minutes against a decent opponent at this point of the season with playoffs starting soon.”

The OAA White Division was clinched this past week by Auburn Hills Avondale (14-1), which has a perfect division record of 11-0.

The Lakers will travel to Farmington Hills Harrison on Thursday, Feb. 17 in their only game this week. West Bloomfield will then wrap up the regular season by hosting Oak Park on Tuesday, Feb. 22 before heading to Oxford on Friday, Feb. 25.