Box Score
Box score
MILWAUKEE - Wisconsin Lutheran College opened
the second half on a 13-2 run to overcome a two-point halftime
deficit and defeat Concordia University Wisconsin 76-67 on Saturday
afternoon in the Northern Athletics Conference Tournament
Championship game at the Recreation Complex to earn the
conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III
Tournament.
A mere 52 seconds into the second half, the Warriors stole the
lead and never looked back. The Warriors came out of the locker
room strong, and baskets from Shavon Dillon (Milwaukee, Wis./Hope
School), Erika Laete (Spokane, Wash./Evergreen Lutheran) and Rachel
Johnson (Milwaukee Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) led the Warriors on a
13-2 run. CUW battled back and brought the margin within four at
the 15:58 mark, but that was as close as the Falcons would get to
touching the NAC Championship trophy.
With 4:34 remaining in the second period, a jumper from Laete
took WLC to its largest lead of the game, 15 points. In the final
minutes of regulation, CUW was forced to send the Warriors to the
line in hope to tip the score in its favor. The attempt was to no
avail as the Warriors shot 82.4 percent (14-for-17) from the line
in the second half alone.
The three Warriors that sparked the second-half surge merited
double digits in the period alone. Laete, Dillon and Johnson
finished the game with 26, 14 and 12 points, respectively. Another
Warrior joined the ranks with a double digit finish as well. Krissy
Day (West Allis, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) had an efficient
afternoon scoring 10 points while shooting 3-for-4 from field,
2-for-2 from the three-point arc and 2-for-2 from the charity
stripe. Johnson also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for a
double-double. The Warriors also turned the table in the rebound
column, out-rebounding the Falcons 26-18 in the second half and
43-42 for the contest.
WLC finished with an even 50 percent shooting average in the
second half and finished the contest shooting 43.9 percent. The
Falcons' 9-for-32 (28.1 percent) second-half field goal performance
may have been to their demise as they finished the game shooting
just 33.3 percent. An impressive 90 percent (18-for-20) showing
from the charity strip kept hope alive but could not propel the
Falcons to victory.
The first half began as an all-out, neck-in-neck battle. A layup
by Concordia's Kendall Kerns gave the Falcons an 8-6 lead with
15:45 remaining in the half, a lead Concordia would keep for the
remainder of the period. The Warriors would not finish the half
without a fight. A three-pointer by Day and a continuous feed to
Laete contending in the post kept the Warriors in the hunt and the
margin to a mere five points. WLC entered the locker room at
halftime trailing just 29-27.
The Warriors and the Falcons entered halftime with a nearly
identical field goal percentage. Concordia edged out Wisconsin
Lutheran by shooting 38.7 percent (12-for-31) with the Warriors
shooting 37.5 percent (12-for-32). The first half push for the
Falcons was found beyond the three-point arc where they netted 3 of
6 attempts (50 percent). The Warriors completed just 1 of 5
attempts (20 percent). The Falcons also controlled the rebound
column, out-rebounding WLC 24-17. Laete led the Warriors' first
half scoring pursuit netting 12 points with 5 other Warriors
recording points as well.
Kerns paced three players for the Falcons in double figures with
23 points and nine rebounds. She was aided by going 9-for-10 from
the free throw line. Katie Luethe and Becky Gifford added 12 and 10
points, respectively. CUW concluded the contest shooting 33.3
percent (21-for-63) from the floor.
Wisconsin Lutheran (25-3, 16-2 NAC) will await to hear its first
round NCAA Tournament site and opponent until Monday at 2 p.m. when
the NCAA unveils its tournament field during its selection show on
NCAA.com.
