LAKEVILLE - Give LaVille head girls basketball coach Nicholas Amor and his team props for being able to improvise. Amor and his club knew that Culver Community was going to pack its 2-3 zone tight on defense, hoping to force the Lancers into more outside shots. The strategy worked for a little while for the Cavs before the Lancers started to methodically pick the defense apart for easy baskets. LaVille found a way to attack Culver's zone and used its full-court pressure defense to pick up a 41-26 opening round victory over the Cavaliers. Lily Smith led LaVille offense early, hitting a pair of 3-pointers as LHS took an 18-11 lead into the halftime intermission.  Smith finished with 8 points, all in the first half. Mckenna Deason was on the receiving end of a couple of passes for baskets as the Lancers magically passed the ball between defenders in the lane for easy baskets as Amor's unit became more effective  Deason also had 8 points for LaVille, all coming in the second half.  As Amor's team offensive execution increased against the zone defense, the Lancers added 84 feet of pressure defense. Deflections, steals, and easy baskets added to LaVille's array of scoring to secure the victory. Brooke Edison, who was effective on the glass and with her defense, was the lead sniper with 8 steals.  Kuskye added 5 steals of her own to a Lancer defense that came up with 18 steals. Ava Weil also chipped in with 8 points, including 4 of 5 from the free throw line. With the win, LaVille improves to 7-10 overall and will face New Prairie (16-4) in the second semifinal game of the 59th Annual Everwise Bi-County Basketball Tournament. The winner will advance to the championship game scheduled for Saturday, January 20, against the winner of the Triton-John Glenn. GIRLS VARSITY 59th Everwise Bi-County Basketball Tournament LaVille 41, Culver Community 26 At Dale E. Cox Gymnasium Score By Quarters Culver 8 11 19 26 LaVille 10 18 29 41 Culver - Grace Sieber 8, Giselle Villegas 0, Madlin Hamilton 3, Elexa O'Brien 4, Brianna Schlemmer 3, Brooke Davis 2, Amiyah Williams 6. Totals: 8 6-9 26 LaVille - Lily Smith 8, Mackena Deason 8, Ava Weil 8, Brooke Edison 8, Mikalah Kuskye 4, London Kwiatkowski 3, Jasmine Foster 2. Totals: 14 9-15 41 3-point field goals: Culver 4 (Sieber, Hamilton, O'Brien, Schlemmer), LaVille 2 (Smith 2) JV score: Culver 26, LaVille 24 Records: Culver 4-13, LaVille 7-10 ******* 59th Annual Everwise Bi-County Basketball Tournament Girls Varsity Thursday Jan. 21 Games at LaVille Jr-Sr High School 6:30 p.m. Dale E. Cox Gym Semifinal #1 - Triton v. Glenn Auxiliary Gym Consolation #1 - Oregon-Davis  v. Argos 8:00 p.m. Dale E. Cox Gymnasium Semifinal #2 - New Prairie  v. LaVille Auxiliary Gym Consolation #2 - Bremen  v. Culver