First Quarter Surge Sparks Warriors Over Inferno

MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - The Wisconsin Lutheran College women's basketball team out-scored visiting Alverno 21-3 over the final 6:26 of the first quarter to jump out to a big lead and secure a 61-41 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win Saturday afternoon inside the Recreation Complex.

• Final Score: Wisconsin Lutheran 61, Alverno 41
• Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (5-3, 3-1 NACC), Alverno (1-5, 1-2 NACC)
• Location: Recreation Complex, Milwaukee, Wis.

• With the score knotted at 2-2 just over three minutes into the game, the Warriors rattled off 11 straight points for a 13-2 lead at the 3:06 mark. Following an Inferno three-pointer, sophomore Kalies Birkholz (Watertown, Wis.) sunk her second straight three-pointer that fueled another 10-0 run to close the quarter with Wisconsin Lutheran in front 23-5. Three players scored at least five points in the period as the Warriors shot 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from the floor.
• Sophomore Jenna Mace (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) opened the second quarter scoring with her second triple of the game to increase WLC's lead to 21 points. The Warriors maintained a lead of at least 17 points in the quarter despite shooting just 27.8 percent (5-for-18). Senior Tierney Woodward (Poynette, Wis.) drained her first of three triples right before the halftime buzzer to give Wisconsin Lutheran a 35-13 lead at the break.
• WLC returned from halftime with a 20-point third quarter performance. The Warriors mounted a game-high 29-point lead at 53-24 with 2:42 left in the quarter following a nifty layup from sophomore Ally Gough (Horicon, Wis.). The Green and White carried a 24-point lead into the fourth quarter after shooting 44.4 percent (8-for-18) in the third.
• The Warriors were held to just six fourth-quarter points and 20 percent (3-for-15) shooting, but their deficit did not dip below 20 points as they closed out their third conference win of the season with a 61-41 win.

• Junior Amanda Brug (Sturtevant, Wis.) led the Warriors and was the only player to reach double figures with 11 points. Birkholz and Woodward finished with nine points each on a trio of three-pointers.
• Sophomores Maria Murray (Middleton, Wis.) and Morgan Tramburg (Fall River, Wis.) pulled down a game-high eight rebounds apiece, as WLC out-rebounded Alverno 43-29, including an 18-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
• The Warriors shot 36.4 percent (24-for-66) for the game, but 40.9 percent (9-for-22) from three-point range.
• Wisconsin Lutheran out-scored the Inferno 23-9 in points off turnovers and 19-2 in bench points.
• WLC extended its winning streak to 11 games against Alverno and improved to 16-0 all time at home in the series.

• Keeshya Bellows and Eniya Madden scored a game-high 14 points each to pace Alverno. The visitors shot 37.8 percent (17-for-45) from the floor

• Wisconsin Lutheran is off until next Saturday when it hosts Dominican (5-3, 2-2 NACC) in a 4:15 p.m. NACC contest. Live stats and video will be available for the game at WLCSports.com.