The Lakeland women's basketball team played host to the Clark State Eagles today and came away with a 69-52 victory. With the win, the Lakers evened their record at 8-8 while improving their league record to 5-3. The Lakers came out strong in the first half. Lakeland played strong defense and forced the Eagles into numerous turnovers and missed shots from difficult spots. Offensively, the Lakers were very poised as they made the extra pass to the open player and exercised great patience in using the clock throughout. With their strong play, Lakeland was able to sub freely and went into the break with a 37-17 advantage.
In the 3rd quarter, the Lakers turned it up another notch defensively. Trinity Jackson and Monica Devine each had some steals while Devine also drew a charge. Lauren Perry was the beneficiary of the defense as she outscored the Eagles by her self in the 3rd period, 12-9. Monica Devine was responsible for 4 points in the quarter as she hauled in two offensive rebounds and put backs. Trinity Jackson scored the other bucket in the 3rd quarter for the Lakers as they led 55-26 at the end of the period. From there, the Lakers cruised to the victory.
Lakeland had 3 different players finish with double digits. Lauren Perry finished her afternoon with 23 points to lead the way. Trinity Jackson collected 12 points while Monica Devine added 10 points for the Lakers. Batoul Khaleefah picked up 9 points and Layla Von Berndt added 7 points for Lakeland. Mya James finished her afternoon with 6 points in the Laker win.
Gardy's Gab: "We came out with a lot of energy in the first half and really played great defense. We were all pretty locked in and that really allowed us to control the game. We have to put this behind us quickly as we will need another strong effort tomorrow."
Next Up: The Lakers will complete the home-and-home series as they make the trip to Springfield, OH tomorrow (2/10) to face these same Clark State Eagles. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 pm.
