Improvement was the key word for Brock Dowell to describe his Shakamak High School basketball team Tuesday night.

The Lady Lakers came out and took control early and picked up their first win of the season, 39-30 over the Lady Firehawks.

Dowell liked what he saw on both ends of the court.

“Defensively I thought we showed some improvement in the half court. Our rotations were better, and we were much more active with our hands,” Dowell said.

“Offensively, we had some girls step up tonight. Kayden Murdock, Maddie Jaco and Jacelynn Coffey came up with some big offensive rebounds when we needed them.”

Shakamak gradually pulled ahead of Seven Oaks each quarter and took a 29-15 margin into the fourth quarter. The Lady Firehawks outscored the Lady Lakers 15-10 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough.

Shakamak’s Kaylee Calvert had a game-high 21 points, and she also had five rebounds and six steals. Annabelle Ehle had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Lady Lakers, and Jacelynn Coffey and Kayden Murdock both had eight rebounds.

“I’m proud of our girls. We still have plenty of areas to improve on, so we’ll continue to get back after it in practice and try to get a little bit better each day,” Dowell said.

The Lady Lakers are back in action Saturday at home against Cloverdale (1-1). The junior varsity will play two quarters starting at noon, and the varsity game will follow.