Box Score
Box score
AURORA, Ill. - The Aurora University Spartans
scored the first seven points of overtime to break a 62-62 tie at
the end of regulation and went on to defeat Wisconsin Lutheran
College 72-69 on Thursday night in a Northern Athletics Conference
game at the Thornton Gymnasium.
Junior forward Erika Laete's (Spokane, Wash./Evergreen Lutheran)
jumper with 18 seconds left in the second half tied the game at 62
apiece after Aurora grabbed its first lead of the half moments
before. WLC held the Spartans on their final possession, sending
the game into an extra frame.
AU raced out to a seven-point lead, 69-62, with 3:36 remaining
in overtime. The Warriors got within three points twice the rest of
the way and had three chances to tie the game on their final
possession, but could not connect from beyond the arc.
WLC led for the majority of the second half, holding a game-high
10-point lead, 48-38, at the 13:51 mark. Aurora grabbed a 60-58
lead, its first of the half, with 1:11 left to play. The Warriors,
who committed just six turnovers, shot 38.2 percent, while the
Spartans shot a comparable 39.3 percent.
In a closely contested first half, Wisconsin Lutheran had a
four-point lead with 8:27 on the clock before the Spartans surged
on a 12-0 for a 31-23 lead. AU held onto its lead the rest of the
half and clung to a 35-34 halftime advantage. The Warriors fired on
50.0 percent of their shots despite trailing at the half.
Senior forward Whitney Miller (Germantown, Wis./Kettle Moraine
Lutheran), who scored 12 points in each half, finished with a
game-best 26 points. Laete added a double-double with 16 points and
10 rebounds. The pair combined to shoot 55.9 percent (19-for-34)
from the floor.
WLC shot 42.6 percent (29-for-68) for the game, but struggled
from three-point range, shooting only 17.6 percent (3-for-17). The
Warriors were out-rebounded, 44-36, but turned the ball over just
15 times, their second-lowest output of the season.
The Spartans (8-15, 6-11 NAC) were paced by Becky Gifford's
double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds. Jen Robinson was the
second Spartan to tally double figures with 12 points. Aurora,
which shot 45.2 percent (28-for-62) overall for the game, was aided
by a 45-percent (9-for-20) performance from downtown.
Wisconsin Lutheran (12-10, 11-5 NAC) rounds out its five-game
road trip with its final road game of the regular season Saturday
in Lisle, Ill., against Benedictine University. The Warriors and
Eagles (10-10, 8-7 NAC) tip-off at 2 p.m. at the Rice Center. WLC
holds a one-game NAC South lead over Alverno College with two games
remaining.
