CORINTH -- Coming out of Friday’s final nondistrict game against Red Oak and with the start of District 5-4A play looming next week, defense has not been the problem for the Lake Dallas Lady Falcons.

In fact, the Lake Dallas defense has held opponents to just over 41 points per game to open the season and limited Red Oak, which features three quick guards and a 6-4 post player in Raquel Dent, to 42 on Friday. But the Lady Falcons couldn’t put together enough offense to make good on the defensive effort and fell 42-26 at home.

Lake Dallas (3-10) was held to just one field goal in the first quarter and just two in the third on their way to the tenth loss of the season.

“Defensively, we’ve done a great job all year long,” said Lake Dallas head coach Jason Boston. “If you hold your opponents below 50 points per game, you’re giving your team a chance to win. We’ve just got to score points, and that all goes back to taking better care of the ball.”

Lake Dallas turned the ball over 35 times in the loss due to a dangerous mix of inexperience and quick Red Oak defenders who played opportunistically in the Lady Falcons’ backcourt, swiping at the ball and getting into passing lanes to disrupt the Lake Dallas offense.

“Turnovers impacted the game so much, it was tough to gauge how [Red Oak was] really hurting us the most,” Boston said. “They’ve got a really good press. But it was good for us because we know that going into district [play on Tuesday], we’re going to see a lot of that.”

And the same quick guards who forced the tempo defensively for Red Oak (8-6) did most of the damage offensively as well. The trio of Kiona Robinson, Daphene Ward and Diamond Lockhart combined for 30 of Red Oak’s 42 points on the night by finding open pockets in the Lake Dallas 2-3 zone and by wreaking havoc off of Lady Falcon turnovers.

Dent scored just two points in the win, but she gave the Falcons big problems on their offensive possessions, coming away with six rebounds, five blocks and three steals.

“They’ve got a really good combination of players,” Boston said of Red Oak. “You’ve got the quickness around the perimeter, which is hard enough to stop, and then you’ve got some big presences inside that are able to give them extra opportunities on offense.”
Forward Hailey Broderick led the Lady Falcons in scoring with eight points, and Brittany Montgomery came off the bench and sparked the struggling Lake Dallas offense at times. She scored all five of her points in the first half.

“She always brings that spark coming off the bench,” Boston said. “She knows the game well and really helps her teammates out when she’s on the floor.”

The second half of Friday’s game was a virtual wash, as neither team managed more than 13 points in the final 16 minutes of play.

The Lady Falcons will open district play on the road at Little Elm on Tuesday. The Lady Lobos and the Lady Falcons have a common opponent in Red Oak. The Lady Hawks beat Little Elm earlier this month 62-43.

MATT MARTINEZ can be reached at 940-566-6873. His e-mail address is mmartinez@dentonrc.com.

Red Oak 42, Lake Dallas 26

Red Oak          14        14        6          8          --         42

Lake Dallas      5          8          5          8          --         26

Red Oak (8-6) -- Kiona Robinson 10, Daphene Ward 9, Diamond Lockhart 11, Kaytlin Smith 1, Danyel Harris 1, Jamie Conkle 1, Raquel Dent 2, Symore Jackson 7.