The Lakeland women's basketball team traveled to Owens Community College today and faced the Express in OCCAC action. The Lakers used a strong team effort to earn a 68-63 win to even their overall record to 7-7 (3-3 in OCCAC). The Lakers had a tough first half as the Express played strong defense while being efficient offensively to jump out to a 32-23 halftime lead. In the 3rd quarter, the Lakers exploded and outscored the Express 23-10 to take the lead. The Lakers were paced by five 3-pointers (3 from Jai'Lynne Hitt-Swartz and 2 from Trinity Jackson) in the quarter. Monica Devine also continued her strong inside play recording a couple baskets. The Lakers continued their strong play in the 4th quarter as they outscored the Express 22-21. Trinity Jackson caught fire during the quarter recording 14 points.

Trinity Jackson led all scorers with 29 points while Jai'Lynne Hitt-Swartz fionished her afternoon with 17 points. Monetta Hilory had a consistent afternoon scoring in every quarter and finishing with 9 points. Monica Devine added 8 points while Nitzy Rios chipped in 5 points in the Lakers win.

Gardy's Gab: "Owens is always a challenging place to play and credit them for playing hard. I'm really proud of the effort and unity our team showed today. It was an excellent team win." AC Hajdu added, "I'm really proud of the effort and determination the team showed. Despite finishing with 4 players, we fought to the end. It was good we were able to go on a couple of runs and finish strong."

Next Up: The Lakers will play host to the Cuyahoga Community College Triceratops on Wednesday (1/29). Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 pm.