WAVERLY, Iowa (WLCSports.com) - Second-ranked Wartburg used a 14-0 run late in the fourth quarter to erase a five-point deficit and hand Wisconsin Lutheran College a 62-55 setback on Sunday in the opening game of the Wartburg Holiday Tournament at Levick Arena.
The Warriors (4-6), who held a 45-40 lead over the Knights with 8:04 left in the fourth quarter, were held scoreless for nearly the next seven minutes.Â
WLC fell behind 8-0 less than three-and-a-half minutes into the first quarter, but closed out the rest of the opening frame on a 12-3 run thanks to the final five points from senior
Janiyah Goner (Milwaukee, Wis.), who was one of four players to score in the first period.
A three-pointer from senior
Haley Ott (Germantown, Wis.) followed by a layup from senior
Lexy Smit (Brandon, Wis.) gave WLC a 19-14 lead less than four minutes into the second quarter. WC responded with an 8-0 run to jump in front 22-19 with 3:44 remaining, but Goner gave Wisconsin Lutheran a slim 26-25 advantage at halftime with a layup in the final seconds.
The Warriors used a 9-0 scoring run early in the third quarter to build their largest lead of the game, 37-30, behind six points from sophomore
Margie Stevens (Oneida, Wis.) and a three from senior
Mack Hogenson (Neenah, Wis.). Wartburg netted six of the last seven points over the final 2:14 of the quarter, but WLC still held a 38-36 lead after three quarters.
Wisconsin Lutheran led 45-40 within the first two minutes of the fourth quarter behind five straight points from Goner and two more from Stevens. The Warriors missed their next nine shot attempts and the Knights capitalized off of four turnovers to score 14 unanswered points and lead 54-45 with 1:35 left. WLC came within six points twice within the final minute, but fell short by a 62-55 final.
Goner led all scorers in the game with a career-high 19 points. She added five rebounds and two steals. Stevens finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. Wisconsin Lutheran shot 38.9 percent (21-for-54) from the floor, including 28 percent (7-for-25) from three-point range.
Lauren Woeste scored 17 points and Jaedon Murphy added 12 points for WC (9-2), which outscored the Warriors 24-10 in points off turnovers and shot 38.3 percent (18-for-47) from the floor.
WLC faces a quick turnaround tomorrow when it takes on UW-Platteville (6-3) at 2 p.m. in its final game of the Wartburg Holiday Tournament at Levick Arena. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
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