Lady Royals unable to match Lady Wildcat firepower, falter 71-36
DEVILS LAKE – The Lake Region State Lady Royals looked to turn a new leaf after the transition into the new calendar season. After all, the team closed the 2021 year as losers of three games straight, dating back to Dec. 28 during the Phoenix College Holiday Classic.
Then, there was the coaching side of the coin. After the departure of Danny Mertens, Lake Region State assistant coach Colden Hutton was acting as interim head coach.
While the team had aspirations to open the 2022 year with a bang, Lake Region State faltered to North Dakota State College of Science, 71-36, on Jan. 19 at Devils Lake Sportscenter.
The Lady Royals (6-13, 3-7) have dropped four consecutive games to open the 2022 calendar year. Lake Region State has averaged 42 points per game (PPG) and allowed 76 PPG during the stretch.
The Lady Royals immediately found themselves at the wrong end of the depth chart as Marta Lopez (15 G, 12 GS), Iara Navarro (11 G, 8 GS) and Pilar Ortiz (15 G, 4 GS) were all scratches for the contest. The Lady Royals, as a result, needed to chalk up a smaller lineup in order to contend with the bigger Lady Wildcats.
The Lady Wildcats capitalized on this size mismatch with 6’4” center Maile Hunt, who crashed the glass and sapped away any second-chance opportunities.
However, Arthel Massaquoi and Ambah Kowcun found the offensive seams for the Lady Wildcats. The pair did the bulk of the damage against the Lady Royals early and often during the first half. The Lady Royals were outscored during the first half, 36-19. Massaquoi and Kowcun finished the game with 11 and 22 points, respectively.
“What we were looking for is we were going to go over the ball screen [and] low-show it and take away that roll a lot,” Lake Region State interim head coach Colden Hutton said after the game. “Their big girl [Ambah Kowcun], she likes to go big-handed all of the time, so we tried to force her right. She’s uncomfortable going right. We just didn’t necessarily do that all of the time.”
North Dakota State College of Science continued to maintain their pace during the second half as they went on to outscore Lake Region State, 35-17. Lake Region State has scored 45 points or less over their last three games, dating back to Jan. 5 (the Lady Royals scored 35 points in their 64-35 defeat against Bismarck State College).
Finding more consistency off of the bench will be critical as the Lady Royals continue to navigate through their schedule.
“We have to improve on getting downhill and being aggressive in getting downhill,” Hutton said. “I think our success is when we get to the lane and go strong and go finish, but we have to get there all of the time.”
Four North Dakota State College of Science players scored 10 points or more (Kowcun with 22, Ivane Tensaie with 15 and Massaquoi and Laurie Cren with 11 each). Tiziana Huici led all Lady Royal players with 21 points (8-16 FG).
Contact John Crane via email (jcrane@gannett.com) or Twitter @johncranesports)
This article originally appeared on Devils Lake Journal: Lady Royals unable to match Lady Wildcat firepower, falter 71-36
