The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Owens tops Lakeland women in first-place battle
The truest measure of a good team can be how it responds to the occasional setback.
Lakeland Community College women’s coach Ornette Gardenhire is confident his players will quickly bounce back from a 62-53 loss to Owens Community College on Feb. 20 at the Athletic and Fitness Center.
The Lakers slipped to 20-8 overall and 8-1 in the Ohio Community College Athletic Center.
“We’ll be fine,” Gardenhire said after the Lakers’ 11-game winning streak was snapped. “These players are
OWENS 62, LAKELAND 53
hungry. They’ll learn from this game and be ready for the next.”
Freshman guard Lauren Perry finished with a teamhigh 14 points for Lakeland. Sophomore forward Gianna Pergoraro (Mentor) scored 11 points. Sophomore guard Makayla Gordon added 10 points.
It was the second time this season that Owens throttled a normally efficient Lakeland offense that came into the game averaging 72.1 points.
In the Jan. 21 meeting at Owens, the Lakers prevailed,
60-52.
“That’s an aggressive, physical team that plays tough defense,” Gardenhire said of the Express.
Sophomore forward Hayley St. John netted a gamehigh 16 points as Owens built leads of 29-28 at halftime and 41-40 after three quarters.
The Express didn’t give an inch in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lakers, 21-13.
Owens upped its records to 16-5 overall and 9-1 in the OCCAC, moving ahead of the Lakers into first place.
Lakeland finishes the regular season Jan, 25 at Edison State Community College. Tipoff is 1 p.m. The Lakers then will play in the National Junior College Athletic Association District XII Tournament.