WINONA LAKE – As an athletic program without a conference affiliation, Lakeland Christian Academy has to take a chance when agreeing to play some schools. Sometimes the other team is especially talented, and sometimes the Lady Cougars are the more-gifted team. The latter was the case Tuesday night when Cornerstone Christian College Prep from Fort Wayne came calling, and LCA cruised to a 69-12 win in a game that was lopsided from the opening tip. The Lady Cougars got off to a 9-0 start, led by seniors Hannah Delp, Rachel Sand and Carissa Urschalitz, who combined to score 16 of LCA’s 18 first-quarter points. “I didn’t really know much about (Cornerstone), because I couldn’t really find much,” LCA head coach Allison Kauffman said. “So it could have been one of those crazy situations where they show up and are very talented. We didn’t really know coming in what to expect. “We rely on Hannah and Rachel, not just for the stats, but along with Carissa they give the team vocal leadership, their heart and their effort on the floor, and our team runs by that.” The extent of Cornerstone’s first-half scoring was a three-pointer from Kamisha Brown that was sandwiched in between a pair of treys by Autumn Dunlap. The Lady Eagles went nearly 20 game minutes between field goals, and only a steal and layup by Dunlap late in the game, followed by a free throw by Brown on the next possession, kept them from being shut out in the second half. While part of Cornerstone’s low score had to do with their abilities, the LCA defense, especially the reserves who played extensively, had a lot to do with the one-sided score. Delp finished with 12 points, Urschalitz had 10 points and six rebounds, and Sand finished with eight points and seven rebounds in the somewhat limited minutes they played. Freshman Abigail Fishel came off the bench to finish with a game-high 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Of the 10 LCA players suited up for the contest, nine scored at least four points. “I was really impressed with everyone who came in, off the bench and the starters as well. It was a team effort; there was no one person that did it,” Kauffman said. “I liked seeing more confidence in the girls coming off the bench that haven’t gotten as much playing time throughout the year. “Abi Fishel did a great job; I don’t know how many points she had, but I’m sure it was more than 10. They did a great job of stepping up and being confident in themselves, looking up the floor and just playing hard on defense; that was the main thing. They gave it their heart and got a few steals for easy baskets, and played hard for the whole 32 minutes.” With three games in five nights this week, Kauffman used the unexpected opportunity to keep the starters fresh and help the underclassmen gain valuable experience in applying the lessons of practice into game situations. “We got a chance to rest our starters; we have three games this week so it was a good opportunity to rest our girls that play the most minutes,” said Kauffman.” “It also gave us an opportunity to work on those things we need to work on; running our offense through a faster-paced game where we’re trying to attack and be aggressive. It also let some of our reserves get some shots they don’t normally get.” The Lady Cougars, 8-7 on the year, host Elkhart Christian Thursday night and travel to No. 5 (Class 1A) Argos Saturday night.
LAKELAND CHRISTIAN 69, FW CORNERSTONE CHRISTIAN 12 CC 6 3 0 3 – 12 LCA 18 19 18 14 – 69 Cornerstone – Kamiesha Brown 1-5 1-4 4, Benetrice Hunter 0-0 0-0 0, Keyazha Johnson 0-3 0-0 0, Autumn Dunlap 3-12 0-1 8, Keyundra Johnson 0-3 0-0 0, Judasha Carter 0-4 0-0 0, Janae Jordan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 4-27 1-5 12. Lakeland Christian – Melissa Goss 3-5 1-5 7, Maddie Paris 0-3 0-0 0, Carissa Urschalitz 5-6 0-1 10. Ellie Nieveen 2-7 0-0 4, Brady Gross 3-4 0-0 6, Hannah Delp 5-16 0-0 12, Rachel Sand 3-13 2-3 8, Gabby Catron 2-2 0-0 4, Anna Reimink 2-4 0-2 4, Abigail Fishel 7-8 0-0 14. Totals 32-68 3-11 69. Three-pointers – Cornerstone 3 (Dunlap 2, Brown), Lakeland Christian 2 (Delp 2); Rebounds – Cornerstone 20 (Brown 4), Lakeland Christian 42 (Sand 7); Turnovers – Cornerstone 38, Lakeland Christian 14; Fouls – Cornerstone 13. Lakeland Christian 7; Records: Lakeland Christian 8-7
