The College of Lake County women's basketball team delivered a tremendous effort against nationally ranked #12 Lansing Community College on Saturday at the Lansing CC Liftoff Classic, leading for 39 minutes before suffering a heartbreaking 71-68 defeat on a three pointer with just 8 seconds remaining.

The Lancers went toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the country, displaying tremendous toughness, confidence and competitiveness throughout the contest. CLC controlled much of the game and put itself in position to earn an impressive victory before Lansing's late shot proved to be the difference.

Jade Warren led all scorers with an outstanding 27 point performance, adding 5 assists, 5 steals and 7 defensive deflections. Melissa Ketter delivered a strong all-around performance with 9 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Mylee Boebel also finished with 9 points, connecting on three three pointers, while Addison Dolan contributed 9 points.

Aaliyah Hillard added 7 points, Amari Ogleton chipped in 4 points and Ny'Asia Short finished with 3 points as the Lancers received contributions throughout the lineup.

Following the game, Head Coach Tanner Morris emphasized the positives despite the difficult finish.

"I'm incredibly proud of the way this group competed. We came into a tough environment against the #12 team in the country, and our players never backed down. To lead for 39 minutes speaks volumes about the effort, preparation, and belief this group has in one another."

"Obviously, the result hurts, especially when you're eight seconds away from potentially walking away with a big win. But I told our players that one possession doesn't define who we are or what we're capable of. We showed that we can compete with anybody in the country. Now it's about learning from this experience, continuing to get better, and using this as motivation moving forward."

Although the final result wasn't what the Lancers wanted, the performance provided plenty of reasons for optimism. Competing for 40 minutes against a nationally ranked opponent and holding the lead for 39 of them is a testament to the potential and toughness of this team.

The Lancers will take the lessons from this weekend and continue building as the season gets underway.