Box Score
Box score
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Wisconsin Lutheran College
overcame a 16-point deficit in the first half, but in the end, fell
to seventh-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University 84-69 Saturday in
the second round of the 2011 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball
Championship at the Shirk Center.
Wisconsin Lutheran held a slim lead for the opening 4:12 of the
first half, before Illinois Wesleyan used an 11-0 run to take a
nine-point lead, 16-7, at the 13:29 mark. IWU maintained its lead
for the rest of the half, up to as many as 16 points, before
sophomore Shavon Dillon (Milwaukee, Wis./Hope School) sank a
three-pointer as the buzzer sounded. WLC went into halftime
trailing by 13 points, 40-27.
Despite turning the ball over just eight times in the first half
against a team that thrives on creating turnovers, the Warriors
shot just 31.3 percent (10-for-32). Wisconsin Lutheran struggled
from behind the arc, shooting 23.1 percent (3-for-13). Dillon
scored 12 points to lead WLC in the opening frame. IWU
out-rebounded the Warriors 28-17 in the first frame.
Illinois Wesleyan had three players reach double figures in the
half and was led by Stacey Arlis' 13 points. Olivia Lett and Nikki
Preston added 12 and 11, respectively. The Titans finished the
first half shooting 41.9 percent (13-for-31) from the field.
Trailing by 13 points at halftime, the Warriors opened the
second half on a 7-0 run to get within just six points, 40-34, at
the 17:58 mark. WLC held IWU to scoring just seven points through
the first eight minutes of the second half. The Warriors out-scored
the Titans 27-9 and took a 51-49 lead at the 8:52 mark. IWU scored
the next five points to regain the lead. WLC kept its deficit
within four points with just under six minutes to play. The Titans
then extended their lead to 10 points with 1:25 to play and kept it
in double figures the remainder of the way.
Junior Rachel Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran)
scored 11 points for the Warriors in the second half. WLC shot a
much-improved 43.8 percent (14-for-32) in the half. Wisconsin
Lutheran out-rebounded IWU 20-14 in the second half. Preston and
Arlis once again paced the Titans, who shot 46.2 percent
(12-for-26), with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Dillon paced the Warriors with a team-high 20 points, while
Johnson added 13. Erika Laete (Spokane, Wash./Evergreen Lutheran),
who finished with eight points in the contest, also collected a
team-high eight rebounds in her final game for the forest green and
white. WLC, which was out-rebounded 42-37 for the game, shot 37.5
percent (24-for-64) from the floor.
Arlis tied a game high with 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to
lead the Titans (25-4), who will face Coe College (26-3) in next
weekend's sectional round. Preston also tied a game high with 26
points. Olivia Lett was the third player from IWU to reach double
figures with 20 points on four three-pointers. The Titans shot 43.9
percent (25-for-57) for the game and were benefited from 84.8
percent (28-for-33) free throw shooting.
Wisconsin Lutheran concludes its 2010-11 season with an all-time
best record of 26-4. Heading into Saturday's game, the Warriors
were one of just 16 teams in NCAA Division III to reach at least 25
wins on the season.
