Mustangs fall in OT

Trailing 18-4 with three minutes to play in the first quarter, the Lakewood Ranch High girls basketball team appeared to be in for a long afternoon. 

Lakewood struggled to contend with Winter Haven's full court press initially, but eventually the Lady Mustangs, ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 7A, narrowly knocked off the top-ranked Blue Devils. It took Winter Haven, which scored the game's first 11 points, an extra five minutes to hold off Lakewood, topping the Lady Mustangs 49-48 in overtime of the Bright House Network Shootout Jan. 23, at Northeast High. 

Junior LaDazhia Williams led all scorers with 21 points. The Lady Mustangs forward also hauled in nine rebounds. Senior guard Elise Spiller added 18 points. Lakewood was without senior Kyra Klarkowski, who was injured and didn't dress for the game. 

Lakewood returns to action Jan. 27 in the Class 7A-District 11 semifinals. The the Lady Mustangs, who earned the district's No. 1 seed, will play the winner of Monday's quarterfinal between Venice and Braden River.