The Lakeland women's basketball team upped its record to 8-1 (2-0) after a 69-59 victory over the Terra State Titans on Wednesday night at Lakers Gym. The Lakers jumped out to a quick 7-0 start to begin the game only to let Terra get back into the game at 9-8 with just over 5 minutes to play in the quarter. Armani Jackson then got hot as she hit a 3 and followed it up with an old fashion 3 point play after a Titan turnover. Makayla Cooper quickly followed with another 3 and Julie Hajdu finished out the scoring just before the half with a nice cut to the basket. At the end of the quarter the Lakers led 24-14 and they never looked back. In the second quarter the Lakers just kept expanding the lead highlighted by back to back 3's from Hajdu and Gianna Pegoraro. The Laker's came out a bit sloppy in the second half. There were uncharacteristic turnovers and missed shots, but they were never really threatened as they finished out the contest.
The Lakers had a very balanced attack as they had 5 players score in double figures. Armani Jackson led the way with 24 points; she also added 17 rebounds. Cooper finished with 13 points while Pegoraro scored 11 points . Rayonna Peterson and Julie Hajdu each chipped in 10 points.
Gardy's Gab: "We established the inside game early – we just had a good presence there tonight. We started the game off with some good energy and started to cruise a little bit – that's something we will need to correct. Overall, we didn't take care of the ball the way we are capable of and had too many turnover's – give credit to the Titans pressure for that. We got done what we needed to – we need to work on some things and get ready to play a tough Clark team on Saturday."
Next up: Lakeland will play host to Clark State on Saturday, 12/7, at a special noon time start. Admission is free. The Lakers will then travel to Delta College to participate in the Lynn Conway Classic December 14-15 before returning home on December 19 for their final game of the semester against St. Clair County CC at 5:30 pm.
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.
