The Lakeland women's basketball traveled to Lorain County today and dropped a 75-66 decision to the Commodores. The Lakers fell in an early hole in the first quarter as the Commodores took advantage of missed Lakeland shots and turnovers. Lorain carried the lead throughout the 2nd quarter and went into the break with a 38-30 lead.

In the 3rd quarter, the Lakers took control of the game as they erased the lead quickly. Nitzy Rios got it started when she drained a 3-pointer on an assist from Monica Devine to cut the deficit to 5 at 38-33. Rios later stole the ball and fed Da'Vionna Singleton for a layup. Singleton then stole the ball and drove for a layup to cut the Laker deficit to 1 at 38-37. The teams would trade missed shots on their possessions before Monica Devine sank a 10-footer the give the Lakers their first lead of the game at 39-38 with 6 minutes to play in the quarter. After the Commodores made a layup, Rios connected on another 3 pointer to give the Lakers a 42-40 lead. Lorain would then take advantage of a Laker foul to hit a pair of free throws and then a Laker turnover for a layup to take a 44-42 lead. Monetta Hilory would then feed Kiara Smith for a 3-pointer as the Lakers regained the lead at 45-44. Both teams would miss shots before Smith was fouled and hit both free throws. With 2 minutes to play in the quarter, Rios was fouled and sank 1-2 free throws for a 48-44 Laker advantage. Following a Commodore layup, Nitzy Rios would feed Jai'Lynne Hitt-Swartz for a 3-pointer and a 51-46 Laker lead with 1:25 to play in the quarter. Kiara Smith would then steal the ball and make a layup to grow the Laker lead to 7 at 53-46. The teams would then trade free throws before Lorain County connected on a 3-pointer as the period was expiring to end the quarter with the Lakers leading 50-50. In the 4th quarter, Kiara Smith got the Lakers started as she hit a driving layup for a 56-50 Laker lead. Lorain would then take advantage of a Lakeland miss, a pair of turnovers, and a fouls to knot the score at 56 with 7:41 to play. The Commodores would later hit 1-2 free throws to re-take the lead before Monica Devine scored an old-fashioned 3-point play as she connected on a layup and then the free throw after being fouled.  After a Commodore turnover, Kiara Smith would feed Nitzy Rios for another 3-pointer and a 62-57 Laker lead with 5:29 to play. After a Lorain made basket, the Lakers were whistled for a foul and a techical foul giving Lorain 4 free throws. The Commodores hit them all to regain the lead at 63-62. Lorain then took advantage of a couple of missed Laker shots to grow their lead to 67-62.  Monetta Hilory would then get fouled and connect on a pair of free throws to bring the Lakers within 3 points at 67-64 with 2:26 to play. Unfortunately, the Lakers would go cold from there as they dropped this game to the Commodores.

Lakeland finished with 4 players scoring double figures. Monica Devine and Kiara Smith each collected 14 points and 4 steals for the Lakers. Nitzy Rios finished her afternoon with 13 points and 4 assists while Jai'Lynne Hitt-Swartz collected 10 points and 3 rebounds. Monetta Hilory chipped in 7 points and 5 assists while Da'Vionna Singleton recorded 8 points for Lakeland. Devine, Rios, Singleton, and Hilory also each added 5 rebounds.

Next Up:  Next Saturday (12/14), the Lakers will look to get back on the winning track as they play host to Terra Sate in a 1:00 pm matchup at Laker Gym.