Ava Budrys-Rini had to miss most of the first half with three fouls when Lake Catholic took on NDCL on Jan. 17. She was more careful the rest of the way but picked up her fourth early. The Cougars were down one with under a minute left. With the game on the line, Lake Catholic had two shots miss, but Ava put her hands up and had the final putback that gave the Cougars the lead with three seconds left. NDCL got the ball up to their 3-point arc but had a late turnover to solidify the Cougars’ 35-34 victory. Lake Catholic moves to 10-5 on the season, and the Lions fell to 6-7. The early foul trouble made it a challenge inside as the Cougars lost their height advantage inside. Coach Michael Pecjak knew the team needed to readjust its game plan. “We knew it was going to be a tough one with the rivalry game,” Pecjak said. “We had four girls out all week, and we knew we were going to be rusty. We just needed to get through the first half and some of the stuff would come back to them. They did a great job.” Lake Catholic tied it at 22 early in the third, but two big 3-pointers by NDCL pushed the advantage back to six. Avery Budrys-Rini, who had a big first half with nine of her 15 then, stated they needed to stay focused. The aggressive play of NDCL was a tonal shift to which the Cougars took three quarters to adjust. The Lions forced jump ball after jump ball and created a ton of turnovers. “They put the pressure on us,” Avery said. “Their defense was hard, but we made it work for the second half. It’s hard to lose one of your bigs, but we have a lot of littles that stepped up.” Lake Catholic chipped away and with Carmella Sowers getting in rhythm. She finished with 10 points, and the Cougars tied the game with under a minute left. With less than 30 seconds left, Avery made a drive and went for a layup, drawing a triple team. While she missed the bucket, it let Ava be wide open on the other side of the hoop for the putback and game-winner. “I’m a volleyball player at heart,” Ava said. “So when I got my hands on the ball I put it up and that was my natural instinct. I’ve done it a few times this season and it works.” NDCL was led by Lila Baeslach and Coco Cochran with nine points each. Lake Catholic next travels to Holy Name on Jan. 20. NDCL next hosts Gilmour on Jan. 22. THE SCORE Lake Catholic 35, NDCL 34