The Lakeland women's basketball team played host to the Mercyhurst NE Saints and came away with an 80-38 victory on Tuesday night. With the victory, Lakeland swept the season series and upped their record to 7-1 overall (2-0 conference). Lakeland came out with strong defense from the tip and overwhelmed the Saints in the first half. On offense, Lakeland was very patient and often made the extra pass which led to some good open looks and some easy buckets. The Lakers continually led by 6-8 points for most of the quarter before a pair of made free throws, a steal, and another penetration basket for freshman Gianna Pegoraro pushed the lead to 12 (19-7) at the end of the 1st quarter. To start the second quarter, the teams traded baskets for the first 4 minutes before Lakeland stepped on the gas. Freshmen Triniti Lee and Makayla Cooper pushed the envelope by scoring several key buckets.
The 3rd quarter was more of the same as the Lakers extended the lead to 30 points at the end of the quarter before cruising to the victory in the 4th quarter. Lee finished with a game high 24 points and 6 rebounds while Cooper finished with 13 points on 3 for 3 shooting from the arc and contributing 4 assists and 4 steals. Sophomore Armani Jackson had a strong game finishing with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 steals. Rayonna Peterson played a strong game controlling the boards and the play underneath while Julie Hajdu made several nice passes and helped control the pace of the game from the point. Dior Morgan played very strong defense putting a lot of pressure on her opponent throughout while Kierra Stiggers stepped in and added 5 points and a block.
Gardy's Gab: "We came out with good energy from the start and were able to mostly maintain the effort throughout. We were pretty consistent as a whole. Triniti (Lee) and Makayla (Cooper) really gave us a huge spark in the first half. We have a little break now to regroup and get set to both finish the semester strong in the classroom and get us set for next Wednesday's league match up against Terra. It should be a nice test for us."
Next up: The Lakers will play host to league foe Terra State on Wednesday, 12/4, at 5:30 pm. Lakeland will then play host to Clark State on Saturday, 12/7, at a special noon time start. Admission to both games is free.
On Saturday night (12/7), Lakeland Community College will host the Harlem Legends at 7pm. Advance tickets are $10 while Lakeland students and veterans are $8. Tickets will be $15 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at www.legendsatlakeland.com. All net proceeds will benefit Project Hope for the Homeless.
