By Frank Davis

Correspondent

Some people might blame Friday the 13th for the Lakeland Lady Cavaliers’ 54-49 loss to the Lady Hawks of Hickory High School on Friday night at Lakeland, but a poor first-quarter start likely had a lot to do with it.

Cavalier head coach Brandey Blunt was pleased with the play of her team but remarked after the game that the girls needed more fight, especially in the first quarter.

Playing in a Southeastern District game, the Lady Cavaliers were able to muster only one point in the first 8 minutes of play. Turnovers, steals and missed shots plagued the team as the opposing Lady Hawks threw up 14 points for the first quarter of play.

The Lady Cavaliers came to life in the second quarter. Kyiesha Barrett led the attack for the home team by pumping in 11 points. The whole team became more aggressive, getting steals, attacking the boards and outscoring the Hawks 17–13. But the visitors still took a 27–18 lead to the locker room at the half.

Opening the third quarter, the Cavaliers continued their attack. Quaesha Knight led the attack, scoring back-to-back baskets to cut the lead to 29-28 with 4:18 remaining in the third quarter. But the Hawks fought back and pushed their lead to 42–33 by the close of the quarter.

The Lady Cavaliers refused to throw in the towel, though, and they gave the Hawks a run for the money. But they were only able to get as close as 40–44 with 5:10 remaining, following another set of back-to-back baskets by Knight.

In scoring for the Cavaliers, Knight led with 24 points, followed by Barrett, with 19.

For the Hawks, Caitlyn Douglas led with 12, and Alexis Smith had 10.

Lakeland’s record now stands at 1–11 overall and 1-10 in the district.