The Lakeland women's basketball team continued play in the St. Clair County basketball tournament today as they defeated the Oakland Owls by a score of 93-81. With the win, the Lakers improved their record to 6-3 on the season. In the first quarter, both teams battled back and forth as they tried to take early control of the game. The Owls held a 21-17 lead with a minute to play when Kennedy Coleman was fouled and connected on 1-2 free throws. Following an Owl miss, Coleman would again get fouled and make 1-2 free throws to make the score 21-19. Lakeland would then take the lead when Joh'niqua Clay would convert a 3-point play after a steal and a layup giving the Lakers a 22-21 lead after 1 period of play. In the 2nd quarter, the teams would again go back and forth early before the Owls took a 6-point 41-35 lead to go with just over 3 minutes to play in the half. Again, the Lakers would close the quarter strong. The comeback started with Kanija Kimbrough grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring on a put back.The teams would trade several missed shots before Arianna Vera stole the ball and was fouled. Vera calmly stepped to the line and sank both free throws to bring the Lakers within 3 points at 41-38. Late in the half, the Lakers would put a lot of pressure on the Owls leading to an Emerson Hren steal and layup to make the score 41-40 going into the break.

The 3rd quarter would have an eerily similar flow as again the Owls would slowly grow their lead until they led 63-52 with 2:45 to play in the quarter. Lakeland would battle back again. The comeback began with a Kennedy Coleman 3-pointer on an assist from Joh'niqua Clay. Following an Owl miss, Raegan Perkins-Hirz made a layup on an assist from Gabriella Moore to make the score 63-57. After an Owl miss, Coleman would feed Moore for a 3-pointer to bring the Lakers within 3, 63-60. After another Owl miss, Perkins-Hirz would score another layup on an assist from Arianna Vera with 1:21 to play in the quarter. The Owls would then make a freee throw before Coleman was fouled and sank a pair of free throws to tie the game at 64. On the next play, Kennedy Coleman would steal the ball before Clay sank a jumper to put the Lakers up 66-64. The teams would continue to trade baskets before Oakland made a layup at the buzzer to regain the lead at 69-68 after 3 quarters of play.

The score would remain the same for the first 1:30 of play of the 4th quarter until Ariann Vera drained a 3-pointer to give the Lakers a 71-69 lead. Both teams would miss shots before the Owls connected on a 3-pointer to retake the lead. The Lakers answered right back when Kanija Kimbrough fed Raegan Perkins-Hirz for a layup and a 73-72 Laker lead. Following an Owl turnover, Perkins-Hirz would score again on a layup. Both teams would go cold over the next couple of possessions before Kennedy Gadson was fouled and made 1-2 free throws with under 5 minutes to play. Following an Owl basketet, Kennedy Coleman would feed Gadson on a layup to put the Lakers up 78-74. The Owls were then whistled for a foul on Gadson who quickly made both free throws to extend the Lakers lead to 80-74 with 4 minutes to play. After an Owl miss, Kennedy Gadson would make a jumper putting the Lakers up 82-74. From there, the teams traded scores on a couple of possessions before the Lakers closed out the victory.

The Lakers had a balanced scoring attack as 5 players finished in double digits. Kennedy Coleman (22 pts, 9 rebounds, 4 steals) was the games high scorer. Kanija Kimbrough had a big game as she recorded 15 points, 12 rebounds, 7 steals, and 5 blocks. Joh'niqua Clay recorded a double double (16 points, 10 rebounds) while Kennedy Gadson finished with 16 points. Raegan Perkins-Hirz just missed a double double as she ended her day with 10 points and 9 rebounds. Gabriella Moore was solid throughout the game adding 5 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists while Arianna Vera added 7 points and 4 steals in the Lakers win.

Coach Gardy's Gab: "Give credit to Oakland as they played very hard throughout. I'm sure they had this game circled after we beat them in our place a couple of weeks ago. It was a real challenge for our team playing the night game yesterday and then the morning game today. It was a nice team effort. We had some foul trouble in both games so we are getting some experience playing under adversity. Kennedy (Coleman) really shot the ball well today and Kinaji (Kimbrough) had a very high energy game. It was also good to see Raegan (Perkin-Hirz) almost get a double double. We're improving - which is great to see. The players will have a chance to focus on their finals this week before we jump back into with another conference game next weekend. Really good overall team effort - everyone contributed."

Next Up: The Lakers will travel to Terra State next Saturday (12/13) to face the Titans in OCCAC action. Tip off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.