Nansemond River High School’s girls’ basketball team visited Lakeland High School Tuesday evening and got a win against the rival.

For Lakeland, the 57-17 loss puts them at 3-11 with two games remaining on their schedule.

“We didn’t play with as much effort as we could have,” Lady Cavs coach Brandey Blunt said. “Turnovers and missed shots hurt us, and we just couldn’t recover.”

Blunt wants to see her team play with more effort and intensity to close out the rest of the season.

“We have to make defense our priority and play at our pace, not to the other team’s pace,” Blunt said. “We have to take advantage of open looks and be aggressive on both ends of the floor. I’m hopeful this can happen, and we can end the season on a positive note.”

It was a 40-point win for the Lady Warriors, and the win puts them at 11-6 on the season. They are currently on a three-game win streak, which includes wins over two conference opponents and Tuesday’s win over Lakeland. The Lady Warriors feel that they are playing the best they have all season.

“We’ve been starting each game like we were ready to play, and that’s definitely helped us,” the Lady Warriors’ Cassidy Simmons said. “We are getting back into our groove and are playing Nansemond River basketball.”

“I feel like we are finally playing together with good ball movement,” the Lady Warriors’ Briana Autrey said. “As long as we keep doing that we will go far, no doubt.”

The goal for the Lady Warriors is to improve, and coach R. Calvin Mason Sr. said his team has been doing that since their loss to Warwick High School on Jan. 14.

“We been able to iron some things out. We just want to continue to keep climbing the ladder,” Mason said. “We are playing much better together. For a while we were playing individual basketball. We were getting away from our identity. Now that we are playing more team ball, we are starting to see more results.”

Next, the Lady Warriors have a showdown with top Conference 10 opponent Hampton High School at home Jan. 27. Lakeland will play at home against Booker T. Washington Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.