Staff photo / Brian Yauger Lakeview’s Kalyssa Werner (3) wrestles through a sea of Girard players to bring down a rebound on Thursday.

GIRARD — With a heated Northeast 8 race coming to a head, Thursday’s game between Girard and Lakeview had a lot riding on it.

A win would give the Indians a solid cushion heading into the final few games of the season, while a loss would make each game a lot more important as Girard aims to protect its lead.

The Bulldogs entered the gym looking to avenge their loss against Girard the first time around, and found what they were looking for, upending the Indians, 58-42.

“I think at this time of the season, you want to be tournament ready,” Lakeview coach Jason Lee said. “We’re 6-0 right now in the last six games, and we played three really good opponents in the last three games in Niles, who we held to a season-low for them, then we played Poland and held them extremely low. The defense has really come alive. I think that we’re at the point where there’s a group of seniors that don’t want to lose, and there’s a supporting cast below them that is just phenomenal. I think that they’re getting better every day.”

The Bulldogs took control early and didn’t let go until it was too late, establishing a 23-point lead by the end of the third quarter. The duo of Kalyssa Werner and Annabelle Humphrey combined for 31 points. Werner scored 16, and Humphrey scored 15.

Girard, which is no stranger to large comebacks this season, mounted a late effort, scoring 18 points in the fourth, but couldn’t complete the rally.

“It’s hard if you get down 10-12 points to stay in your game plan, you really have to change your wheels,” Indians coach Joe Bornemiss said. “You have to think, ‘OK, what do we have to do differently against them that we practiced for a week that we are not going to do now?’ It just offsets everything.”

That switch came to a more aggressive defense. It led to points, but it wasn’t sustainable.

“It also leads to a lot of girls that get tired,” Bornemiss said. “When you have to do that kind of stuff, coming after the ball and stuff like that, you’re already playing eight girls. It tends to wear on you a little bit when it’s that late in the game. You want to do that kind of stuff sporadically and not for a whole quarter. We just didn’t play well for three-and-a-half quarters, and they did. We just couldn’t match it.”

Things don’t get any easier for the Indians as they try to hold onto their lead in the Northeast 8. Next up is Poland, which is sitting right behind them in the league race. They close the year with South Range and West Branch.

Despite being one of the smaller schools in their division, Lee isn’t worried about the challenges they bring in the playoffs, as long as his girls continue playing up to the moment like they have this season.

“I think that we need to play big. And I’m not talking about just the size,” Lee said. “I’m talking about winning the little battles. When you look at the teams that are above us in Perry, Laurel, and West Branch, there’s a lot of teams that do little things right. If we do little things right, I think we can compete with them.”

Lakeview plays host to a red-hot Maplewood team on Saturday for the team’s regular-season finale at home. The Bulldogs close the year off with road games against Youngstown East and Hubbard.