Wiesbaden senior David Bradford goes for two points Friday. (Bryan Mitchell / S&S)
Wiesbaden senior David Bradford goes for two points Friday. (Bryan Mitchell / S&S)
Lakeheath senior Megan Carradine drives to the hoop during Friday night’s matchup with the Lady Warriors of Wiesbaden. (Bryan Mitchell / S&S)
RAF LAKENHEATH — The Lakenheath High School girls basketball team made the Lady Warriors of Wiesbaden pay at the free throw line while the Lakenheath boys’ scrappy, in-your-face defense still came up short against a talented Wiesbaden boys squad.
In the first game of a Friday night doubleheader, Angela Gafford and Megan Carradine each scored 16 to lead the Lady Lancers to a 63-36 win over the visiting Lady Warriors.
Gafford, who played tough around the basket all night with 23 rebounds, scored 12 points in the first half while Carradine made her mark from the free-throw line where she went 8-for-10, including 6-for-6 in the second half.
The senior from Texas said proficiency from the charity stripe was something the Lady Lancers worked on all week.
“If the defense commits to you, you have to drive by them and draw the foul,” she said. “Free throws win games.”
Lady Lancers head coach Janis Read agreed.
“We made 19 [free throws] that game,” she said. “We won by 27 so it would have been a different game if we had not made those.”
Wiesbaden was led by Brittany Harris, who scored 12 points.
The win lifts the Lady Lancers to 3-3 and drops the Lady Warriors to 1-4 in the young season.
In the second varsity game of the night, the Lancers’ defensive intensity kept the game close and had the Warriors having to shift their scheme. But a talented Wiesbaden lineup ultimately prevailed in the 54-46 win.
Lakenheath drew three offensive charges in the first quarter alone and denied the shifty Warrior guards opportunities to drive the lane.
“We had to adapt to the way the game was being called,” Wiesbaden head coach Carl Johnson said. “You’ve got to be able to do different things.”
The Warriors’ “different things” included hitting a couple of key three-pointers to take a 25-18 lead at the half.
But Lakenheath, which was fighting hard for its first victory, refused to relent and fought into the final minutes of the contest.
The Lancers actually outscored the Warriors by one in the second half behind solid post play from Carl Snapp, who finished with 19 points.
But in the end it was a balanced scoring attack that saw seven Wiesbaden players score in the second half that led to the Warriors victory. David Bradford led Wiesbaden with 14 points, including nine in the first half.
The senior from Georgia said Lakenheath’s defensive tenacity surprised the Warriors at first.
“They played a lot better than we thought,” he said.
The win improves Wiesbaden to 4-1 and drops the Lancers to 0-6.
