PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College women's basketball team closed 2015 on a positive note. The Hawks never trailed on their way to a 58-49 victory over visiting College of Lake County.

Harper (3-9) raced out to an early 11-0 lead midway through the first quarter behind five points from Jackie Stroud (Norridge, Ill. /Ridgewood) and a pair of 3-pointers by Lexi Zades (/Conant) and Kim Herzog (/Buffalo Grove). The Hawks' biggest lead of the night came midway through the second quarter as Tamara Zivak (/Barrington) buried a jumper to make it 27-11. However, the Lancers (0-12) closed the half on a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to 27-24 at the break.

In the third quarter, Stroud caught fire for Harper, burying four 3-pointers and scoring 14 points. The final triple gave the Hawks a 47-36 lead with 1:31 to go in the third. The Lancers could only get as close as an eight-point deficit in the fourth. Mary Saitta (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Hoffman Estates) and Tamara Zivak (/Barrington) scored four points apiece in the fourth for Harper.

Stroud scored a game-high 19 points in the win, and Zivak matched a season-high with 13 points and also grabbed eight rebounds. Nastia Solsaa (Menomonie, Wis. /Menomonie ) added eight points. Kristen O'Brien paced Lake County with 16 points, and Kennedy Worrell chipped in 13.

The next time Harper plays will be in 2016. The Hawks host Kennedy-King College (10-6) on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 3 PM inside the Wellness & Sports Center.