The Lakeland women's basketball team traveled to Cuyahoga Community College tonight to face the Triceratops in OCCAC action. Two weeks ago, Lakeland had a tough night and were beaten handidly by Tri-C; tonight the Lakers came out with a lot of energy and played a full 40 minutes while using a dominant 2nd half to beat the Triceratops on their home court, 43-41. With the win, the Lakers record improves to 13-9 and 8-3 in conference play. Lakeland was playing consistent in the first half, but Cuyahoga was hitting their shots. As a result, the Lakers went into the break trailing 27-18. 

The Lakers continued to battle and were able to narrow the deficit to 7 (38-31) after 3 quarters. Monetta Hilory was key offensively as she scored 7 points in the quarter. Kanija Kimbrough continued to play with high energy and added 4 points in the period. Still, the Lakers had a hill to climb in the 4th quarter. Joh'niqua Clay and Raegan Perkins-Hirz did the job offensively for Lakeland as they each scored 6 points in the quarter. The Lakers made a strong defensive effort in the quarter which forced Tri-C into bad looks while holding Cuyahoga to just 3 points. The winning bucket was scored down the stretch with the Lakers playing great defense and forcing a Tri-C turnover. Perkins-Hirz made Cuyahoga pay as she scored the game winning basket in the waning seconds. 

The Lakers had a balanced scoring attack and were led by Joh'niqua Clay (14 points). Monetta Hilory had a tremendous game displaying great leadership on both ends of the court and scoring 9 points. Raegan Perkins-Hirz and Kanija Kimbrough both helped controlled Tri-C's inside play while scoring 8 points each. Arianna Vera had a strong defensive game and recorded 4 points while Kennedy Coleman and Gabriella Moore also played significant roles on the defensive side for the Lakers.

Gardy's Gab: "This was a great comeback win for us. We had a lot of energy and intensity to start the game and were able to maintain it; if not even pick it up even more, in the second half. We really did a nice job sharing the ball and that allowed us to get into a good rhythm. Really pleased with our half-court defense - it was very sound. Mo (Monetta Hilory) demonstrated sensational leadership as a sophomore on both ends of the floor tonight."

Next Up: On Saturday (2/21), the Lakers will travel to Hocking College to face the Hawks in OCCAC action. Tip off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.