ORLEANS — No. 1 Lake Region ousted the No. 16 Otter Valley Union High School girls’ basketball team from the Division II playoffs on Tuesday, 51-28.
The 19-2 Rangers used a big second quarter to take a 28-12 lead at the half. The Otters made a run early in the second half and cut the lead to 10 at 30-20, but could come no closer.
Senior guard Laura Beth Roberts scored 13 to lead OV, and junior forward Amy Jones added six.
Coach Steve Keith said the Rangers’ depth, offensive rebounding and full-court press made the difference against his team, which concluded an injury-plagued season at 3-18. The Otters got off to a promising 3-3 start, but soon lost starting forward Sophia Bloomer and key rotation player Courtney Bushey to season-ending knee injuries.
Keith said several other players stepped up and played well in their absence, but the injuries robbed OV of its depth.
Keith praised the Otters’ performance against top-seeded Lake Region.
“We are proud of the effort we made,” he said.
In other D-II girls’ basketball action earlier this week, No. 2 Mount Abraham hosted No. 17 Hartford on Tuesday (see story), while No. 12 Vergennes (6-14) and No. 14 Middlebury (3-17) were set to play on Wednesday after the deadline for this issue of the Independent.