BY JOHN SCHAFFNER

It has been a while since ANY Danbury basketball team achieved the status of a 20-win mark in one season. The 2022-23 Lady Lakers did it last Thursday night to gain a spot in the District finals with a 44-35 win over Mansfield Christian, giving them a season record of 20-4.

The dream ended Saturday at Willard High School when Coach Joe Miller’s team fell to Buckeye Central in the District finals 39-21. Buckeye Central was the No.1 seed in the District. They did it with defense, as the Lady Lakers had difficulty scoring throughout the game and had no player in double figures.

In Thursday’s win over Mansfield Christian, the Lakers controlled things pretty well in the first half, despite the opposition’s superior height. However, Mansfield Christian went on a bit of a roll late in the second half to cut the Laker lead to 3 points.

Kamil Stephens hit five 3-pointers to finish with 19 points. Maria Maringer went 9 of 12 from the free-throw line to score 15 points.

The game was the last for the high school careers of Natalie Rose and Kamil Stephens as the Lakers ended their season with an outstanding record of 20-5.