The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Former Jackrabbits Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
Thursday night’s Moore League matchup between Long Beach Poly and Lakewood brought something the league hadn’t seen in a very long time — 17 years to be exact.
The Jackrabbits entered the night chasing their 213th straight Moore League victory, a run dating back to 2008 under longtime coach Carl Buggs that’s drawn every opponent’s best shot. On Thursday night, Lakewood’s shot was finally enough, as the Lancers relied on a team effort from their young group to build a 23-point lead before holding off a late Poly comeback to win 57–51.
“I want to thank Poly for being who they are, because they make every team in the Moore League play at their best,” Lakewood coach Eric Oswell said after the game. “They’re not going to beat themselves, you have to go out and beat them, and we’ve been close in so many games. For my girls to do what they did tonight, it says a lot about them and the work they’ve put in.”
Poly’s streak officially enters the record books at 212 wins and is the second-longest in state prep history, trailing only Troy’s run of 219 straight league wins from 1996-2018. Despite the end of that historic run, there was no surprise as to where Buggs’ focus was after the game.
“The biggest thing today is, are we going to grow from this?” Buggs said. “That’s the biggest lesson. Streaks end, I don’t need the wins—I’ve got enough of them. It’s about my players and getting them to believe in themselves. I hope we can learn from this so we don’t come out like this again.”
Lakewood had been close in recent years against Poly, but the formula was much different this time around without the star power of recent seasons. Instead, it was a collective effort from a young group, led by a game-high 22 points from Lakewood freshman Aniyah Lindsey.
“As a freshman, I still knew how much weight this game carried,” Lindsey said. “I just knew we had to be in the zone, and I had to help the team stay focused. We had to move as one and be in sync.”
Lindsey was surrounded by a large group of underclassmen, including fellow freshman Leilah Sieng, who finished with seven points, while sophomore Laylah Patterson added 10. For junior captain Isabella Ramsey, the team’s lone returning starter from last season, the win was a little extra special after finally experiencing her team get over the hump.
“It feels amazing,” Ramsey said. “I feel like we accomplished something we’ve been working so hard toward, and I’m just so proud. It took a lot of energy and effort from everyone—staying positive, not getting down, and keeping each other’s energy up.”
Lakewood used a full-court press to dominate defensively early on, which led to easy buckets on the other end. The Lancers opened up a double-digit lead in just the opening quarter and went on a 14-0 extended run midway through the first half, eventually building a lead as big as 23 points.
“We take a lot of pride in starting the game right on defense.” said Ramsey, who also had a pair of three-pointers in the first half. “Defense wins games, and that’s what we have in our head every game.”
“They hear me stressing defense every single day and even my freshman are probably sick of hearing it from me already,” Oswell added. “We’ve been a great defensive team for many years, and these young girls knew what I expected of them and they’ve stepped up to the challenge. They don’t back down, they’re coachable, and they went out and played with the advice they were given.”
After half time, Buggs eventually settled into a lineup that he felt most confident in, and the Jackrabbits were able to push for a comeback in the second half. The lead was cut to 16 by the end of the third quarter, before a 21-8 run in the fourth quarter to miraculously bring the Jackrabbits within three points with under two minutes to play.
That run was led by Poly freshman Eliana Mao, who scored 16 of her team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter alone including a pair of three-pointers. While trailing by three with under a minute to play, Mao had a chance to tie the game after jumping the inbound for a steal and getting a look from deep, but the attempt fell short.
Poly used its fouls to send a handful of Lancers to the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds of the game, but Lakewood was able to hold on. Freshmen Lindsey and Sieng each made free throws to close the game along with a make from Ramsey.
“They hit three big threes that changed the momentum a little bit and I think my younger girls started to feel a little bit more pressure,” Oswell said. “I have two freshmen playing two very important guard spots, and they’re handling the ball through all the pressure. They did a great job and they hung in to make enough free throws to win the game.”
The win keeps the league standings all knotted up, with Lakewood, Poly, Jordan, and Millikan all sitting at an even 1-1 through two games of Moore League play. Lakewood has taken its only loss to Jordan, while Millikan has lost to Poly but beaten Jordan.
Both teams will enjoy winter break before returning to league action on January 7, when Poly travels to face Wilson while Lakewood will be at Millikan.
