DEVILS LAKE — The Royals came into Sunday expecting to win.
They were, after all, facing a Miles Community College team that was 15 games under .500. Lake Region State College is in second place in the Mon-Dak, and Miles is in second-to-last. All signs pointed towards the team from North Dakota over the visiting Montana squad.
But the Pioneers challenged the Royals’ women in the first half. There were nine lead changes, and LRSC only led by three at halftime.
“I don’t think we were out there clicking, and didn’t have our energy out there,” LRSC head coach Colden Hutton said.
The Royals (13-11, 6-2) took care of business in the end, though, beating Miles (4-20, 2-6) by a score of 76-58. Nicole Lillard led with 23 points, and Sydney Schwabe had 13 in the second half. Schwabe and Kiara Holweger both reached double figures in rebounds.
“The second half, especially in the third [quarter], we really turned it on. Really got after it,” Hutton said. “And I thought we played really well.”
A three by Lillard gave LRSC its first lead of the game at 6-4. Down 10-8, Brinly Gregory hit back-to-back triples. The Royals led 19-13, with 12 of those 19 points coming from Lillard and Gregory threes.
Miles finished the first quarter on a 6-0 run, though, to tie it up. Schwabe committed a foul in three-point range, and the Pioneers converted all three free throws. An and-one tied it up on a Holweger foul a play later.
LRSC led 25-21 in the second quarter after a basket by Jenna Tierney and four free throws by Lillard. But the teams changed leads six times down the stretch of the first half, with the Royals squeaking ahead 33-30 before the buzzer.
Arden Faulkner, after taking a tumble in the first quarter, returned to make a couple of baskets. Lillard had the most first-half points with 12. LRSC didn’t get any points in the half from its top scorer, Schwabe, and only got two from Holweger.
“They were just beating us on effort and energy, and that’s what it comes down to,” Hutton said. “When we play to where we’re able to play, we make runs and we’re a really good team. But when we play down to the team’s level like we did tonight, you can see it’s close and a competitive game. So we’ve just gotta get ready to go for all four quarters.”
Schwabe got going in the third quarter, and it made an immediate impact. She had seven points early on in the second half, helping build the lead to 45-34.
“She does a lot for us, whether it’s shooting, scoring but also the ball handling,” Hutton said. “She also rebounds really well for her size… We’ve just gotta get her on track to not be as streaky.”
The Royals led by as many as 15 in the third quarter. Miles clawed it back to nine in the fourth quarter, but Lillard made an and-one to grow the advantage back to double digits. Tierney missed her own and-one attempt, but Lara Graham made a put-back.
Lillard had eight points in the fourth quarter, and Schwabe had six. Lillard had the best overall game with 23 points and nine rebounds. Schwabe scored all 13 of her points in the second half.
“[Lillard] attacks, and she gets downhill, and she finishes through contact,” Hutton said. “And that’s something that this team, at times, misses. We’ve just gotta be able to go and attack… You see that with a bunch of our players… They’re affecting the game in multiple ways.”
Schwabe’s second triple of the afternoon fueled a 7-0 run to end the game for LRSC. It was a comfortable win in the end despite the sluggish start.
This was the second-to-last home Sunday of the regular season for the Royals. They’ll play at Sweetwater Elementary School on Monday, then play four of their final five games on the road.
“We’ve gotta stay healthy through it all,” Hutton said. “I’m excited to see where we go. I’m excited to see how we compete throughout.”