Starting 3-0 in Carolina 1A play gave Lakewood a nice shot of momentum after a tough start to the season, but a 45-25 loss to Neuse Charter, followed up by a Friday evening tangle with Princeton, who is 9-3 (3-0), tested the Lady Leopards mettle. Indeed, it was a tough test for Lakewood — too tough — as the Lady Leopards fell to Princeton in runaway fashion, 60-37.
Lakewood was able to keep pace with the conference-leading Lady Bulldogs early on, only trailing 5-3 following a mere two and a half minutes of game action. That would be as close as the Lady Leopards could keep it, though, as Princeton limited the home team to one more successful field goal in the quarter, while spotting nine of their own in route to a 14-5 lead by the end of the first.
That nine-point deficit for the Lady Leopards was peanuts to the 37-13 halftime lead that the Lady Bulldogs had amassed by halftime.
Out of the intermission, Princeton threatened to get the game into running clock territory, leading by thirty-five with five minutes left in the third. However, Lakewood didn’t allow that to happen, trimming it back to a 53-27 game, at the start of the fourth.
Credit to the Lady Leopards, who, as Princeton emptied out the bench, still battled to make the final score resemble a better showing, 60-37.
Princeton’s victory kept them apace with Neuse Charter, as both sit at 4-0 in-the conference. Lakewood’s 4-8 overall record and 3-2 conference mark still maintains third place in the standings after the loss, but are now just one game ahead of Rosewood.
Next up for the Lady Leopards is a packed schedule — three games in four days. First up in that stretch is a road trip to Hobbton High School. The Lady Leopards and Lady Wildcats are slated for their first meeting of the season on Tuesday at 6 p.m.