CHAMPIONSHIP
Lakeville North 61, White Bear Lake 44
Lakeville North opened a double-digit lead late in the first half and never let it go against White Bear Lake in the championship game of the Rotary/US Bank Holiday Classic girls basketball tournament Thursday evening at Mayo Civic Center Auditorium.
In a rematch of last season's Class AAAA state title game, Lakeville North used stellar defense and efficient shooting to come up with the same result, a comfortable victory that was decided well before the final buzzer.
It's the second straight Rotary tournament championship for Lakeville North (8-2), which is ranked No. 3 in Class AAAA, and the seventh title in nine tournament appearances for head coach Andy Berkvam.
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Senior guard Rachel Banham led LN with 17 points, and 6-foot-3 senior center Apiew Ojulu scored 15. Senior guard Jaya Perkins added 10 points for the Panthers, who were 11-of-15 from the free throw line.
For White Bear Lake, senior guard Lindsay Paulson came off the bench to lead with 14 points, junior guard Alexis Foley scored 11, and senior forward Sara Schoenthaler added 10. The Bears made just 4-of-10 free throws.
LN capitalized on 11 WBL turnovers in the first half and made four three-pointers, two of them sandwiching a 15-3 run that left the Panthers with a 29-12 lead with 3:55 left in the half.
WBL (9-2) tried to come back with six three-pointers in the second half, three by Paulson and three by Schoenthaler. But the closest they got was 11.
