The Lady Lakers basketball team played host to the Cuyahoga Triceratops tonight and came away with a convincing 96-47 win. With the victory, the Lakers improve to 15-2 overall and 5-0 in the OCCAC. The Lakers started off slowly in this game and Cuyahoga made them pay as they hit their outside shots consistently for the first 8 minutes of the game. With the score tied at 15, Lauren Perry sank 1-2 free throws to give the Lakers a lead they would not relinquish. On the next play, Cuyahoga missed a shot and Gianna Pegoraro grabbed the rebound and fed a released Perry for a layup. The quarter would finish on a Delaney Sullivan assist to Mya James to give the Lakers a 22-17 advantage. In the second quarter, Mya James connected on a 3-pointer to start the play. After Tri-C cut the lead to 3 at 25-22, Madison Fueger hit a 10' jumper to make the score 27-22. The Lakers would then steal the ball and Gianna Pegoraro would score on a layup from Alesia Marshall. After a Cuyahoga miss, Pegoraro would feed Fueger for another basket and a 31-22 Laker lead. On the next possession, Pegoraro would steal the ball again before Marshall assisted on another Fueger made basket. After a Cuyahoga 30 second violation, Makayla Gordon would dish to Fueger for a 10' baseline jumper. Fueger would then steal the ball on Tri-C's next possesssion and and feed Pegoraro on a layup. After a Cuyahoga miss, Fueger would then rebound the ball and go end to end for a layup and 39-22 Laker lead. On the ensuing play, Pegoraro would steal another ball and feed Gordon for an easy layup. The Lakers would end the period with a commanding 44-24 advantage. At the start of the third quarter, the Lakers wanted to be sure there would be no thoughts of a comeback. Makayla Gordon stifled those thoughts quickly as she hit a 3-pointer to start the third quarter and then went 2-2 at the free throw line to give the Lakers a 49-24 lead and the momentum to close out the game. From there, the Lakers never looked back as they coasted to the victory.
Lakeland finished with six different players scoring in double figures. Madison Fueger would lead the team with 20 points while Mya James would finish her night with 19 points. Lauren Perry and Makayla Gordon each scored 14 points for Lakeland. Alesia Marshall and Gianna Pegoraro each added 12 points in the Laker win.
Gardy's Gab: "Our energy level was down early - we were flat. Credit Cuyahoga as they came out ready to play and shot the ball well. Once we started to get into our pressure defense, we were able to get some turnovers and play more our style of basketball. This was a good team win - everyone really contributed."
Next Up: On Saturday (1/21), the Lakers will travel to Owens Community College to face the Express. The tipoff is scheduled for 3:00pm. In a strange twist to the schedule, the Lakers will then host the Express next Wednesday (1/25) in a 5:30 pm game.
