The Lady Lakers gave it their all. In their 3rd game in 5 days, they pushed tonights game to 3 overtimes against the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats before finally succumbing 77-72. The Lakers record is now 10-9 (6-6). Early on, the Lakers struggled to score. In the first quarter, they were unable to convert on several scoring opportunities. As a result, they were behind 15-9 at the end of the quarter. Early in the second quarter, their shooting woes continued; however, their defense intensified and they went into the break tied at 23 after Destiny Khay hit a big 3-pointer to close out the half. In the third quarter both teams battled. Lakeland road Madison Fueger's 9 points in the quarter to finally take the lead at 41-39 to close it out. The teams continued to trade punches in the 4th quarter as no team was ahead by more than 4 points throughout. With the score tied at 51, Lakeland's Elisha Quinn hit a floater in the lane for a 53-51 lead. The Bobcats answered with a 3-pointer to give them the 54-53 edge.  With 1:15 to play Quinn hit a 10' shot as the Lakers regained the lead at 55-54. The Bobcats were then fouled on the ensuing play and sank 1 of 2 free throws to tie it up. Both teams had scoring opportunities to close it out, but were unable to do so...it was about to get interesting.

1st OT: After trading baskets, Delaney Sullivan blocked a shot and then made a strong pass to Elisha Quinn who made a layup to give the Lakers a 61-60 advantage. After a foul, the Bobcats converted on 1-2 free throws to tie the game with 30 seconds to play. The Lakers had the ball and the last shot. Unfortunately they came up short as time was expiring in the OT.

2nd OT: The teams continued to trade baskets until Arion Brown grabbed a huge offensive rebound and scored a layup to give the Lakers a 65-64 lead with 48.6 seconds to play. Bryant & Stratton made a driving layup to take a 66-65 lead with 25.3 seconds left. After a timeout, the Lakers had difficulty inbounding the ball and the ball got loose. Brown was able to gather up the ball and charge to the basket where she was fouled hard with under 15 seconds to play. She calmly hit the first one to tie the score, but had the second one rattle out. The Bobcats were unable to get off a shot in the closing seconds.

3rd OT: Both teams were clearly spent as the shooting slowed down and the turnovers picked up. With the Lakers down 2, Shar'Da Williamson hit a driving layup to tie the score at 69. Unfortunately for the Lakers, Bryant and Stratton scored the next 4 points after Laker turnovers and the game was over.

Elisha Quinn and Madison Fueger each finished with 20 points for the Lakers. Shar'Da Williamson added 17 points while Arion Brown chipped in 9 points.

Gardy's Gab: "We had difficulty converting early in the game - we had our chances - they just didn't fall early. However, we fought back throughout the game. The team worked real hard and I was pleased with their overall effort. Three games in 5 days is tough; but we really battled and I'm so proud of them all. We need to rest our legs up and have a short memory as we play back to back this weekend to close it out."

Next Up: On Saturday, the Lakers will travel to Springfield, Ohio to play the Clark State Eagles. On Sunday, they will play host to the Edison State Chargers. Both games are scheduled to tip at 1:00 pm.