LEXINGTON, Ky. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College held second-ranked Transylvania to its lowest point total in 37 games, but the host Pioneers prevailed over the Warriors 53-45 on Thursday in the first game of the Transylvania Holiday Classic at the Clive M. Beck Center.
The Warriors (5-5), who never trailed in the first quarter against the Pioneers (11-0), led 8-2 after sophomore
Mack Hogenson's (Neenah, Wis.) jumper at the 6:43 mark. A layup by sophomore
Ella Ten Pas (Oostburg, Wis.) doubled WLC's lead to 10-5, but TU scored seven of the final nine points of the opener quarter to even the score at 12-12 after one period.
Transylvania scored the first five points of the second quarter and later used an 8-0 run to build its largest lead of the half at 25-13 with 4:38 left before intermission. Wisconsin Lutheran whittled its deficit down to eight points with three minutes remaining following a Ten Pas layup. The Warriors trailed 30-21 at the break following freshman
Jayden Hill's (Kenosha, Wis.) jumped for the final points of the half.
The Pioneers netted the first five points out of halftime for a game-high 14-point advantage with 7:17 left in the third quarter. WLC trimmed its deficit down to single digits on a three from senior
Ally Gough (Horicon, Wis.) at the 4:40 mark, and junior
Meggie Scott (Yorkville, Ill.) brought Wisconsin Lutheran within five at 42-37 after three quarters with her triple of her own.
Despite shooting just 2-for-19 in the fourth quarter, the Warriors trailed by only four points on three separate occasions in the final frame, the later being 47-43 with 3:56 left after a Hogenson three-pointer. However, WLC was held to 1-for-8 shooting and 0-for-3 from the charity stripe under the last three minutes as TU held on for the eight-point win at 53-45.
Ten Pas posted her second double-double of the season of 14 points and 11 rebounds, while junior
Sam Leisemann (Fall River, Wis.) added 10 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and four steals for her second double-double as well. Wisconsin Lutheran was held to its lowest field goal percentage of the season, 25.5 percent (14-for-55).Â
Kennedi Stacy scored a game-high 18 points to pace Transylvania, which shot 34 percent (17-for-50) from the floor in the contest.
The Warriors will take on Centre (7-4) in their final game of the Transylvania Holiday Classic tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT. Live coverage links for the matchup will be available at WLCSports.com.
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