The Lakeland women's basketball team played host to the Jamestown Jayhawks tonight and swept the season series after a convincing 64-53 victory. With the win, the Lakers improve to 6-0. The first half was a tale of two quarters. In the first quarter, the Lakers started a bit slower, but were consistent. They were able to take advantage of Jayhawk misses and turnovers and built a 16-7 lead by the end of the period. In the second quarter, Lakeland went cold offensively. During this period, Lakeland was unable to convert most of their open looks. They had good shots from both the perimeter and in the paint, but the ball just would not go down for them. Jamestown came all the way back to tie it at 19 before Delaney Sullivan hit a jumper to send Lakeland into the break with a slim 21-19 lead.
The third quarter featured a little run by Lakeland to give them a 9 point lead after Madison Fueger converted a pair of free throws to make the score 34-25. However, Jamestown battled back and closed the gap to 36-33. Lakeland would then go on a little run to close out the quarter. Gianna Pegoraro would get things started by dialing up a 3-pointer to increase he lead to 39-33. After a Jayhawk turnover, Zion Fussell would hit a layup. After a Jamestown miss, Makayla Gordon hit an 8-foot bank shot. Fueger would then get it done on both ends of the floor by blocking a Jayhawk shot and then scoring on a layup to give the Lakers a 10 point advantage at the end of the quarter, 45-35. Early in the 4th quarter, the Lakers would be a bit careless with the ball and turned it over a few times. Additionally, Lakeland again had a brief cold spell when shooting. This allowed the Jayhawks to climb back in the game and only trail 55-51 with 1:48 to play. From there, Lakeland would take over and sink critical free throws down the stretch to close out the game. It started when Pegoraro was fouled with 1:20 to play - she would calmly step to the line and sink them both. On the ensuing play, Fussell would steal the ball and hit a quick layup to increase the lead to 59-53. After a Jayhawk miss, Fueger was fouled and she drained them both to make the score 61-53. After a Jamestown turnover, Fussell was fouled and she iced the game by making both free throws for a 63--53 lead with 21 seconds to play.
Madison Fueger finished as Lakeland's leading scorer with 24 points. Gianna Pegoraro would add 15 points in the win while Zion Fussell recorded 11 points in the win. Delaney Sullivan would chip in 6 points for the Lakers.
Gardy's Gab: "We didn't come out with quite the energy I expected. In the second half, we were able to pick it up a bit as we made some defensive adjustments. Give credit to Jamestown as they played hard. Though it wasn't our best effort overall, we still showed enough when we needed to get the win. We have some things to work on, but overall, I like the effort our team has given so far this year."
Next Up: The Lakers will play host to the Niagara County Thunderwolves on Wednesday, November 30. Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 pm. It is Military Appreciation Night and there will be more inormation to follow.
