Lake Holcombe tops Cats, falls in Winter barn burner

Lake Holcombe senior Chloe Lee looked for an open teammate, Jan. 31, at home, against Birchwood, after grabbing a rebound on the other end of the court. Photo by Ginna Young

By Ginna Young

As the season races toward completion, Lake Holcombe’s girls basketball program had a good week on the court, taking on two strong East Lakeland Conference opponents.

Jan. 30 vs. Winter conference (L 48-43)

With an earlier game canceled, the Chieftains had some time to regroup and plan their strategy, which helped when on the road at Winter. Although they gave it everything they had, Lake Holcombe had to concede defeat to the home team, 48-43.

“…We were in a barn burner until the very end of the game, until they hit some free throws,” said coach Matthew Stewart.

Jan. 31 vs. Birchwood conference (W 47-36)

The next night, the Chieftains were on their home court and could not be stopped by Birchwood.

“…We took care of the ball exceedingly well, which translated to points,” said Stewart.

In the end, Lake Holcombe took the win, 47-36. Sophomore Payton Birkenholz had the hot hand of the night, scoring 22 points, with junior Alexia Hoffner adding 8. Freshman Leyla Beaudin came next, with 6 points, while sophomore Maria Andres and freshman Aliyah Guthman each added 4. Senior Chloe Lee rounded out the scoring, with 3 points.

The Chieftains are now 5-10 on the year and 4-6 in league action.

“Both of the games we played were some of our best ones to date,” said Stewart. “I am very happy with the play in these last two games and I look to keep building on it.”