MADISON HEIGHTS – For a team which had averaged 57 points during its recent three-game winning streak, Tuesday night’s goose egg in the first quarter proved to be quite the anomaly for the Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes girls.

That simply does not happen to the Lakers.

But it did, and Bishop Foley’s defense stood tall over those first eight minutes.

Unfortunately for the Ventures, it did not last, as Lakes came out hot in the third, rallying from as many as 11 points down, to pick up a 46-39 road victory in a battle of unbeaten Catholic League A-North division teams.

“We got enough good looks, but nothing went through,” Lakers head coach Steve Robak said. “Sometimes when you’re missing shots like that, it’s tough to get on track.”

Foley led 4-0 after one quarter and 19-11 at halftime, thanks in part to the inside play of junior Kayla Moore, who had 10 points in the half – eight of which came in the second quarter. The Ventures’ defense also limited the Lakers to just three made field goals over the first 16 minutes.

But all that changed in the blink of an eye. Foley opened up the second half with a 3-pointer by freshman guard Teresa Weis – giving the Ventures a 22-11 lead. The Lakers answered right back with a 3-pointer of their own, coming from sophomore Brooklyn Robak. Lakes would then come up with three straight defensive stops, and countered with 3-pointers by junior Isabelle Kline and Robak and another layup from Kline to tie the game at 22-22.

Moore would give Foley a 24-22 lead with a short jumper, but Lakes then went on a 9-0 run to open up a 31-24 lead, one from which it would not look back from. Robak scored 10 points during the 20-2 run and Kline added seven of her game-high 20 points. In all, the two combined to score 33 of their 35 points in the second half.

“We knew they had two great shooters,” Bishop Foley assistant coach Ray Joseph said. “We knew (that run) was coming and we told the kids at halftime that they were going to start making their shots and that we were going to have to get on out there and make sure that we were on them.”

Foley made a push in the fourth quarter, pushing the ball inside to Moore and her younger sister, Melanie Moore. The two scored all 12 of their team’s points and helped the Ventures close to within three at 42-39 with 3:34 remaining. But a drive to the basket by junior Macy Senerius and a pair of free throws by Robak sealed the win for the Lakers, who improved to 3-0 in the Catholic League A-North division, and 5-4 overall. Robak finished with 15 and Senerius nine in the victory.

“We talked about our shooters getting ready to shoot and I think we were more ready (in the second half),” Steve Robak said. “And as soon as we saw the ball go through, you could see that it changed the whole feel of the team offensively, like, ‘Oh, yeah, we can make a shot,’ and Brooklyn and Isabelle just started making shots.”

Bishop Foley (5-2 overall, 3-1 CHSL A-North) was led by Kayla Moore’s 17 points. Junior Mary Ruth Oster had nine points – on three 3-pointers – and Melanie Moore added eight.

“The best thing is we get to meet them again. Even though it’s at their place, I think we have a very good opportunity to beat them,” Joseph said.

Source: Second-half explosion leads Our Lady past Bishop Foley