LAKEVILLE - LaVille head girls basketball coach Nicholas Amor knew that rival John Glenn would offer a challenge. And it was not a challenge that Amor and his club took lightly as the two neighborhood schools renewed the Highway 6 rivalry. Amor's squad clamped down on defense, picked up a boost of energy off the bench, and rode solid free throw shooting to a 35-29 victory over "I think that was our best game of the year so far," said junior Brooke Edison. "We worked together as a team, our role was to know who the shooters were and to play our best defense and we did both of those things well." Edison finished with 10 points to help lead the Lancer offense. The game also marked the return of junior Jasmine Foster to the LaVille lineup. Foster suffered an injury at the start of the season, and after rehab and getting the necessary amount of practice in, was cleared. As Foster returned to the floor, it was only a matter of time before she made her presence known. In fact, just about 25 seconds into her return, Foster grabbed an offensive rebound for a put-back to score her first points of the season. It was not only a boost for Lancer Nation, but a huge boost to the LaVille girls basketball team. "Absolutely was a huge boost," LaVille head girls basketball coach Nicholas Amor said after watching Foster return to play. "We are excited to get her back. I think I've only got to coach Jasmine maybe five times since I've been here because she has always been injured. It showed tonight why she is on the varsity. She didn't just step up for us offensively, yes she put the ball in the hole, but she really stepped up defensively - she blocked some shots, got some rebounds. She's kind of like a coach over there on the bench when she is sitting out. She's directing girls. She wants to help her team." Both teams came in looking to close out the 2023 portion of their schedule with a victory. For the Falcons, they wanted to end a recent two-game losing streak. The Lancers, meanwhile, wanted to extend their two-game winning streak heading into a long break. A defensive game by both teams kept the scoring to a minimum through the first 16 minutes of play. Neither team led by more than three points in the first half, though LaVille junior Mackena Deason hit a pair of big baskets near the end of each quarter. Deason's 3-point bomb gave the Lancers a 9-7 advantage at the end of the first period. Then, as the clock ticked down in the second quarter, Deason hit a free throw that tied the score at 12-12 heading into the locker room. The third quarter was the much the same by both teams and the defense reigned supreme. The scoreboard went back and forth as the lead changed three times and the largest lead was by John Glenn at 16-13 midway through the third, then 20-17 at halftime. The final bucket of the half came on a triple by long-distance shooter by Addison Reese with 0:01 showing on the clock. Looking to get some momentum back to start the fourth, Edison created a scoring opportunity when she stole a pass at the top of the key and took it in for a lay up to draw LHS within one point at 20-19 with 7:32 left in the final stanza. Foster hit another key shot in the lane following an assist by London Kwiatkowski. The Lancer senior got the ball in the lane, but was triple-teamed and pushed the ball to Foster. Foster then took a jump shot in the lane over a defender and Amor's team was ahead 21-20 with 6:58 left. Glenn switched the momentum over the next minute, sophomore Arianna Stanley sank two charity tosses, followed by a steal and bucket by Reese along the left baseline to give the Falcons a 24-21 lead at the 6:23 mark. LaVille then became very stingy defensively. The Lancers held JG to just one field goal, forced three turnovers, all the while converting pressure free throws and a huge and-one by Edison for the old-fashioned three-point play. With the Falcons trailing and forced to foul, LV connected on 6 of 7 free throws, plus some insurance tosses by Mikalah Kuskye with 21.2 seconds left in regulation. "It was a group effort," Edison said after helping her team pick up a victory before Christmas break. "We knew shooters were #2 (Danni Devine) and #5 (Addison Reese) and if we were to guard them we knew that we had to stay up on them with a high-hand. "We also knew we had to have helpside defense in order to win the game and we did that. I think the fans getting us hyped up helped us to stay focused. We had been practicing all week on free throws knowing that it might come down to it. We did what we could to see the ball go through the net. Just really proud of my teammates for stepping up." A solid 10 of 13 by the Lancers from the free throw line and eight baskets in the paint helped the Lancer cause. "We held a team that is normally scoring 40 points plus a game into the 20s," said Amor. "It makes a huge difference when you can hold good teams below their average. We knew John Glenn had some shooters and we tried to run them off the line tonight. Mikalah and Brooke did a really good job and then Jasmine just stepped up for us down low, blocking shots, getting rebounds, getting steals. It was a group effort, but those three really stood out." The Lancer defense also produced 12 steals. The lead sniper was Edison with 5, while Foster added 3 steals of her own. "It was totally a group effort," Amor said after watching LHS improve to 6-8 overall. "If they are flying on shooters then they need to know that their teammate is going to be there on helpside. Our rotation was really, really high level tonight. They got their foot on the outside of that lane and they were meeting Glenn at the lane. And a lot of times if you let them get inside the lane before you get over to help, our girls were meeting them outside the lane and it was a difference-maker." Foster, who came off the bench to claim c0-leading scorer of the game for LaVille, had 10 points and five rebounds. "Having Jasmine back in the line up gave us the energy we needed as a team," Edison said following the return of Foster. "It was another body that knew the game of basketball. We had some players get into foul trouble and having her come off the bench helped us tremendously." Kuskye added a season-high 9 points, including 5 for 6 at the line, an assist and two steals. "I think the difference was just making John Glenn uncomfortable," explained Amor. "Every (John Glenn) girl that caught the ball was just uncomfortable. It came from one on one pressure, it came from helpside pressure. We just locked in tonight. We were putting pressure on the ball and talking and that makes a big difference." Reese led all scorers with 15 points for the Falcons, while the LaVille defense held the rest of Glenn's team to just 3 of 18 (.166) from the floor. As LaVille enjoys bragging rights for a bit and takes a holiday break, the Lancers will return in the new year for three straight Hoosier North games - Jan. 6 at Caston (1 p.m. JV tip), Jan. 9 at North Judson (6:30 p.m. JV tip), and Jan. 12 v. Knox (varsity girl-boy doubleheader with varsity girls starting at 6 p.m.). "We've got 2 long weeks before we have a game and this is a good win and motivation going into a really tough Caston," concluded Amor. "We need to play lockdown defense. We are capable and we showed it and now we have to go do that at Caston." LAVILLE 35, JOHN GLENN 29 At Dale E. Cox Gym, Lakeville, IN Score By Quarters John Glenn 7 12 20 29 LaVille 9 12 17 35 Individual Scoring John Glenn - Danni Devine 0, Sophia Romer 3, Addison Reese 15, Daelynn Nance 2, Rylee Johnson 3, Arianna Stanley 2, Keely Bradley 0, Dre Weddington 4. Totals: 9 8-12 29 LaVille - Lily Smith 0, Mackena Deason 3, Ava Weil 1, Brooke Edison 10, Mikalah Kuskye 9, London Kwiatkowski 2, Faith Mejer 0, Jasmine Foster 10. Totals: 12 10-13 35 3-point field goals: John Glenn 3 (Reese 3), LaVille 1 (Deason) Total fouls (fouled out): John Glenn 10 (none), LaVille 15 (none) Records: John Glenn 8-7, LaVille 6-8 Next game: Jan. 6 LaVille at Caston, 1 p.m. JV score: John Glenn 48 (Ky. Vermilyer 10, Mia Hurford 9,) LaVille 25 (Faith Mejer 11, Madi Singleton 5)