The Lakeland women's basketball team played host to the Owens Community College Express tonight and dropped a 62-53 decision. With the loss, the Lakers record now stands at 20-3 overall and 8-1 in conference play. This game was expected to be a battle as the Lakers defeated the Express in a close game on January 21. The Express returned the favor tonight and snapped the Lakers 11 game unbeaten streak. The last time the Lakers lost was in mid-December. The game lived up to its billing as neither team was able to get a lead bigger than 4 points the entire first half. The teams traded baskets throughout the first quarter and it ended with an 18-16 Laker lead. Keys for the Lakers in the opening period was shooting 9-11 from the free throw line. Unfortunately, the Lakers also picked up some fouls and that would prove costly as the game wore on. Both teams would go over 3 minutes before anyone scored in the second quarter. Madison Fueger finally broke the ice on a nice pass from Makayla Gordon at the 6:45 mark to give the Lakers a 20-16 advantage. The Express would answer back and take advantage of Lakeland missed shots to take the lead at 23-22. Lauren Perry would then hit a 6' floater to give the Lakers the lead back at 24-23. After an Express basket, Perry was fouled on a 3-point attempt and sank 2 of 3 free throws to regain the Laker lead. The Express would answer again before Perry sank an 18 foot shot to give the Lakers a 28-27 lead at the break. The teams would continue to trade baskets in what was quickly becoming a very physical game. Near the end of the 3rd quarter, with the Lakers trailing 38-36, Makayla Gordon would grab a rebound and get undercut while doing so. After the hard landing, she was able to regroup and sink both free throws to knot the score at 38. Following an Express missed shot, Zion Fussell would hit a 10 foot shot on a pass from Perry to give the Lakers a 40-38 lead with 20 seconds to play in the quarter. That proved to be too much time though as the Express came down and buried a 3-pointer to close out the quarter and give them a 41-40 lead after 3 quarters. For the Lakers, the fouls added up and they were forced to sit some key players for lengths of time which enabled the Express to comeback and build a small lead. With Owens leading 56-50, Madison Fueger was fouled again and connected on both free throws to cut the lead to 4 with 2:47 to play. After an Owens miss, Fueger was fouled after an offensive rebound and connected on 1-2 free throws to make the Lakers deficit 3 at 56-53. The Express would take advantage of a Laker miss and score the next basket. Lakeland then tried to connect on 3-pointers and were off mark on their next two possessions and with that, the Express salted the game away.
The Lakers had a balanced scoring attack as four players finished in double figures. Lauren Perry was the Lakers high scorer with 14 points. Gianna Pegoraro and Madison Fueger each finished with 12 points while Makayla Gordon finished with 10 points for the Lakers.
Gardy's Gab: "We made too many little mistakes today. We just didn't do the things that we typically do and it wound up costing us the game. Credit to Owens as they came in and played hard. We need to regroup quickly as we need to close out the season strong on Saturday."
Next Up: The Lakers travel to Edison State on Saturday (2/25) to face the Chargers. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm.
