Photo by Jake McNeill: Lakeview forward Aleiah Rosenau attempts a jump shot over the Canby defense during a prep girls basketball game in the 3A North subsection quarterfinals at Montevideo High School on Saturday afternoon.

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MONTEVIDEO — In what was a fast-paced game from the jump, the fourth-seeded Lakeview girls basketball team pulled away early in the first half to take down No. 5 Canby in the 3A North subsection quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon. The Lakers scored each of the final 6 points of the first half and quickly expanded their lead from there to claim a 63-52 victory, sending Lakeview to the subsection semifinals for the second consecutive season. 

Aubreigh Rausch got the Lakers started with a long 2, but Brynn Kockelman’s free throw on the opposite end followed by an offensive rebound and an Ava Danielson second-chance basket gave Canby a 3-2 lead.

Brynn Stensrud answered with a pair of free throws, but Kockelman answered on the other end and a Danielson 3 gave Canby a 4-point lead, prompting a Lakeview timeout.

Coming out of the huddle six minutes into the half, Lakeview looked energized. Savanna Louwagie hit a layup, Megan Schwartz got a putback basket, and a Brook Gunlogson midrange jumper and Schmidt free throw quickly gave the Lakers an 11-8 lead. 

The two teams remained locked in a scoreless stalemate for three minutes, with Canby relying primarily on 3-point attempts in an effort to tie the game. 

Emily Nelson finally got one to go down and tie up the game at 11 points apiece, and Danielson gave Canby the lead back, but Louwagie got a tying bucket for the Lakers and Stensrud ripped her way to the free throw line for a pair of go-ahead free throws. 

The Lakers continued to get Canby in foul trouble as Stensrud hit another shot from the charity stripe on her next trip down the court. Gunlogson followed up with a layup through contact and, while she wasn’t able to get the free throw to go down, Stensrud came up with another and-1 on the next possession to Bring Canby’s lead up to 21-13.

Nelson ended the Canby drought with a 3-pointer and, after another Laker free throw on Canby’s ninth foul of the half, Josie Frank knocked down another shot from long range to make it a one-possession game at 22-19.

The final few minutes of the half were all Lakeview from there. A Reagan Bossuyt offensive rebound set up Rausch with a midrange jumper and another pair of baskets from Schmidt and Gunlogson gave the Lakers a 28-19 halftime advantage.

Frank connected from long range to give Canby the first points of the second half, but Gunlogson hit a layup and Stensrud knocked down a pair of free throws to quickly re-extend the Lakers’ lead. 

It took Lakeview less than four minutes from there to extend its lead into double digits, and another four minutes later Schmidt hit a free throw to bring the Lakers’ lead up to 43-26, the largest gap of the game at the time.

Still, Canby wasn’t ready to give up yet. A Kockelman shot from beyond the arc and a Danielson old-fashioned 3 trimmed Lakeview’s lead down to 11. 

The Lancers got off a good look from 3 with the opportunity to cut the deficit to single digits, but the shot wouldn’t go and a pair of Stensrud free throws and a Gunlogson jumper brought Lakeview’s lead back up to 15 points.

Lakeview improves to 19-7 on the season with the win and now prepares to take on top-seeded Central Minnesota Christian (21-5) in the subsection quarterfinals on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Montevideo High School. When the Lakers and Bluejays met in the regular season, CMC downed Lakeview 66-31. 

Canby wraps up its season at 13-13, a notable improvement from last year’s 8-17 finish. The Lancers fielded a young roster this season and will graduate just two seniors, Frank and Audrey Hentges.