Wide-awake Antioch powers past Lakes

Besides maybe a squirrely toddler, who doesn't like a good nap?

Ashley Reiser sure does.

In fact, the Antioch senior guard loves naps so much that she's made them part of her pre-game routine.

"Usually I take at least a 20-minute nap before every game," Reiser said.

But on Friday, the usual opponent wasn't on Antioch's schedule. Arch-rival Lakes was on tap, and a big crowd was anticipated.

Reiser was a little wired, to say the least.

"I laid down and I couldn't fall asleep and I was like, 'What the heck?' " Reiser said with a laugh. "My adrenaline was pumping, and it was still like three hours before the game. I was already ready to go. I was excited."

So Reiser went without a nap.

Perhaps she should play sleep-deprived more often.

Reiser poured in a game-high 26 points on three 3-pointers, to lead Antioch to a 50-40 Northern Lake County Conference victory over Lakes in front of a packed and lively crowd.

The turning point for the Sequoits (12-3, 4-1 NLCC) came in the third quarter, when they ballooned a 3-point halftime lead (23-20) to 13 points. Reiser scored 7 points in the quarter.

"We just knew we had to start playing team ball," Reiser said. "We stepped up the defense and the pressure on them. We screwed in the screws tighter and finished strong."

Antioch, which also got 9 points from Reiser's twin Amy, forced Lakes into 20 turnovers on the game.

"When our offense picked up, all of a sudden our defense was better," Antioch coach Tim Borries said. "The first half for us … I'm not sure who that team was. But in the second half, we played our game."

Antioch limited Lakes (7-9, 1-4 NLCC) to just four points in the decisive third quarter, all from Natalie Pawlak. Overall, Lakes got a team-high 13 points from guard Natalie Iacopetti.

"In the first half, we were boxing out more and shooting better," said Lakes sophomore guard Sara Smith, who finished with 6 points. "In the second half, we were rushing our offense and not boxing out as much. They were getting a lot of offensive rebounds. That was a game-changer."

Lakes kept plugging away, but couldn't cut its deficit to fewer than 10 points in the fourth quarter.

"We did well in the first half, and we did pretty well with our defensive game plan, because they (Antioch) are averaging well over 60 points a game," Lakes coach Brian Phelan said. "But it was a snowball effect. We came out (after halftime) and just missed too many shots right in a row and it just deflated our confidence."