The Lakeland women's basketball team played host to the Monroe Tribunes today in non-league action and dropped a tough 76-71 decision. The Tribunes took an early 8-4 lead as they controlled the boards and created second chance opportunities. Lakeland then cut the lead to 2 points after a Kennedy Coleman layup. Following a Monroe turnover, Arianna Vera scored on a layup to tie the score at 8. The Tribunes would then turn the ball over again and Coleman made anther layup to give the Lakers their first lead at 10-8. Following a Tribune basket, Joh'niqua Clay was fouled and hit both free throws to put the Lakers back up 12-10. Kanija Kimbrough was later fouled and made 1-2 free throws to give the Lakers a 13-10 lead after 1 quarter of play. In the 2nd quarter, Monroe turned up the defensive pressure and the Lakers went thru a period where they both turned the ball over and went cold shooting. Trailing 29-23, Gabriella Moore drained a 3-pointer to bring the Lakers within 3 at 29-26, with just over 2 minutes to play. In the next 1.5 minutes, the Lakers would miss 3 shots and turn the ball over once as the Tribune grew their lead to 39-26. On the Tribunes next possession, Kanija Kimbrough would steal the ball and feed Arianna Vera for a 3-pointer to bring the Lakers within 10, 39-29, going into the break.
In the 3rd quarter, neither team was able to gain control. Monroe would go on a little run to increase their lead to 11-14 points and every time the Lakers answered. After 3 quarters of play, the Lakers still trailed by 10 points, 58-48. The trading of baskets would continue throughout the 4th quarter until there was about 2 minutes left in the game. Trailing, 70-59, Arianna Vera would connect on a 3-pointer to make the score 70-62. Lakeland would foul on the next 2 possessions and the Tribunes connected on 1-2 free throws each time to increase their lead to 72-62 with 1:23 to play. Monetta Hilory would then score on a driving layup to make the score 72-64. The Lakers would again foul and the Tribunes would connect on 1-2 free throws. On the Lakers next possession, Kanija Kimbrough would drive the lane and find Joh'niqua Clay open for a layup to make the score 73-66. Lakeland would then steal the ball and Kimbrough would drain a 3-pointer to make the score 73-69 with 38 seconds to play. Unfortunately for the Lakers, that's as close as they would get as the Tribune salted the game away at the line down the stretch.
The Lakers finished with 4 players scoring in double digits. Kanija Kimbrough and Arianna Vera each scored 15 points while Gabriella Moore finished her night with 12 points. Monetta Hilory recorded 10 points while Joh'niqua Clay added 9 points for Lakeland. Kennedy Coleman scored 8 points while Raegan Perkins-Hirz chipped in a couple of points in the Laker loss.
The Lakers shot 13-22 (59%) from the line while the Tribune shot 20-28 (71%) from the stripe.
Coach Gardy's Gab: "We just had too many turnovers and gave up too many 2nd chance points. We did not sustain the level of play necessary to win the game. We had spurts but they had more consistent play. We'll take this and learn from it - hopefully come out better in our next game."
Next Up: The Lakers will play host to the Cuyahoga Triceratops next Wednesday (2/4) in a key OCCAC matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 pm.
