Lauren Vaughan scored a career-high 14 points, including 11 in the second half, to lead a late Lady Cobra charge in a 43-32 win at Cazenovia Tuesday night. They broke open a tie game with an 18-7 run, as they rediscovered their offensive rythym for the final eight minutes of play.

The #25-state ranked Lady Cobras knew they would be in for a battle. The Lakers are an athletic team that has kept every game close with tremendous intensity and solid defensive schemes. Scoring has been the only issue, as Caz is fighting desperately to earn a spot in the Sectional Playoffs. Meanwhile, the Lady Cobras were just searching for a win after losing three of their last four.

The first half was played much like the earlier season meeting between the two teams. It was a physical half court game with the defenses dominating play. The Lady Cobras were able to take a 16-13 lead into the intermission with five different players scoring, but no one appearing to be a consistent source of offense. The style and tempo were to the Lakers' liking despite the slight deficit.

The third quarter opened with Caz' defense dominating as the Lakers were able to regain the lead. That was when the Lady Cobras jumped into a full court press and increased the tempo. While the move didn't turn the Lakers over much, it did seem to pump some life into the Lady Cobras.

As the tempo increased, so did the Lady Cobras offensive intensity. They began to attack instead of act tentative. As Jordan Vuaght and Amelia Heiselman were able to penetrate the lane, Vaughan and Tina Hoag were waiting for kickouts on the perimeter. That duo got hot from the wings, combining to make five three-pointers in the final ten minutes. Vaughan's 'three' from the wing gave the Lady Cobras a lead that Caz would eventually match with a put-back basket near the end of the third quarter.

Entering the fourth quarter tied at 25-25, the Lady Cobras suddenly looked like the team that had all of the offensive answers back in December. Vaughan and Hoag combined for 14 of the team's 18 points in the quarter. That was partly due to all of the attention payed to Heiselman and Eranna Shattuck. The Lakers' defensive strategy was clearly to force someone other than the top two scorers to beat them. Vaughan and Hoag jumped all over the opportunity, nailing four three-pointers in the quarter. At the other end, the Lady Cobras defense offered Caz very few clean looks at the basket as they pulled away.

Despite the fact that the two teams are in the Liberty Conference, the game was a non-league game. The teams drew each other in a blind draw last spring to fill out the schedule. The game played in December at Bishop Grimes, also won by the Lady Cobras, was considered the league game.