Lady Royals go 1-1 on the weekend

This past weekend the Lake Region State College Lady Royals played host to Concordia University JV & Jamestown JV.

First up for the Royals Saturday night was Concordia JV. A big opening quarter by LRSC set the tone for the game. The Royals jumped out to an early 22-6 lead aided by a pair of 3's from Annie Jorgenson. The Cobbers were persistent all night and would not let the quick start from the Royals phase them. By half Concordia had made a run of their cutting the Royals lead to 11. In the second half, the Royals would not let it get any closer. LRSC put the press on and forced 22 Cobber turnovers to maintain their lead. The Royals would close it out 72-54 to get the win. Annie Jorgenson led all scorers with 20 points. Maggie Gilbert followed her up with 14 points of her own and Shay'Lee Dayman helped the Royals win the battle of the boards recording a double double 11 points and 13 rebounds.

The second game on the weekend was a Sunday afternoon matchup with Jamestown JV. It was a tale of two halves for the Royals, one was forgettable and one to build on. A hot shooting Jimmies team came in and took a commanding 53-26 lead at half that was aided by 17 Royals turnovers. That half of basketball would not define the day for the home squad as they worked to erase a 30-point lead by Jamestown early in the second half. Once again, LRSC would turn to the press to give them the spark they needed. Forcing the Jimmies into 29 turnovers on the day was the key for LRSC to climb back into it. By the end of the third quarter, the score was 66-49. With 6 minutes to go in the game, the Royals had the lead cut to 10 with a chance to take it under single digits. A costly turnover and a timely three from Jamestown kept the Royals at bay. Despite a ferocious comeback, it would not be enough, as LRSC would fall 85-70 to Jamestown. Annie Jorgenson once again led the Royals in points with 19. Maara Nelson had 6 assists to go with her 16 points.

Head Coach Danny Mertens said, "We weren't at our best this weekend. We did many good things that I was proud of and some things that have to be improved. Our press has been a great catalyst to give us a spark. We just need constant energy throughout games now. The first half against Jamestown was very forgettable but the girls did not let that define them. I liked that they did not quit and did everything they could to erase that 30 point deficit. We just needed five more minutes and I think we could have done it. We will learn from it and get better."

The Royals are now 4-2 on the season with a big week ahead of them. They head down to Iowa for the NIACC Thanksgiving Classic where they will play Iowa Western Friday, NIACC on Saturday and St. Cloud Tech on Sunday before returning home. For updates on their weekend check out @LRSCRoyals or @LRSCWBB on twitter.

Go Royals!