Women's Basketball's Balanced Attack Wears Down Muskies

MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - Junior Sam Leisemann (Fall River, Wis.) scored 10 points and four other players added at least eight in Wisconsin Lutheran College's 59-43 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win over Lakeland on Wednesday at the Time of Grace Center.

The Warriors (14-6, 11-2 NACC) trailed the Muskies (10-10, 8-5 NACC) 4-2 less than a minute-and-a-half into the game for their lone deficit of the night. WLC rattled off a 9-0 scoring run to take an 11-4 lead with 5:50 remaining after sophomore Haley Ott (Germantown, Wis.) tallied four straight points. Another 7-0 spurt to close the first quarter gave Wisconsin Lutheran a comfortable 20-7 advantage as it shot 53.8 percent (7-for-13) in the opening period.

A 10-3 run from LU to open the second quarter trimmed its deficit down to just six points at the 6:24 mark. The Warriors responded with their own 10-2 scoring run that lasted through the remainder of the quarter for a 33-19 halftime advantage. Sophomore Ainsley Howard (Jefferson, Wis.) netted the last five points of the half for WLC.

Wisconsin Lutheran opened up a 16-point lead at 38-22 following a pair of free throws from sophomore Ella Ten Pas (Oostburg, Wis.) with 3:50 left in the third quarter. Lakeland answered with eight straight points to trail by just eight, but the Warriors stretched their lead back to 12 at 44-32 when junior Meggie Scott (Yorkville, Ill.) ended the third quarter with a buzzer-beating layup. 

WLC scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter, including a perfect 8-for-8 at the charity stripe for a 54-32 lead with 6:51 remaining. The lead reached a game-high 23 points when sophomore Madi Manson's (Arvada, Colo.) layup sent the score to 58-35 with 5:43 left. The Muskies scored eight of the last nine points of the game as the final score read 59-43.

Leisemann led Wisconsin Lutheran with 10 points, in addition to six rebounds and three blocks. Scott and Howard finished with nine points apiece, while Ten Pas and sophomore Kara Troxel (Bonduel, Wis.) had eight each. Ten Pas pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and Scott dished out four assists.

The Warriors shot 36.2 percent (17-for-47) for the game, but converted 21 LU turnovers into 25 points. WLC set season highs for free throws made (21), attempted (28), and blocked shots (6).

Mackenzie Miller scored a game-high 13 points to lead Lakeland, which finished the game shooting 32.7 percent (16-for-49).

Wisconsin Lutheran travels to Aurora (17-3, 11-2 NACC) on Saturday for a matchup between the conference's two second-place teams. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. with live coverage links available at WLCSports.com.