RIVER FOREST, Ill. (WLCSports.com) — Wisconsin Lutheran College turned in one of its most efficient offensive performances of the season on Saturday, rolling to an 89-57 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference victory over Concordia Chicago at Geiseman Gymnasium. The Warriors set season highs in field goal percentage, three-pointers made, three-point percentage, free throw percentage, and assists while improving to 4-0 in NACC play.
WLC (8-4, 4-0 NACC) held its only first-quarter lead after junior
Margie Stevens (Oneida, Wis.) opened the scoring with a layup. An 11-1 run by the Cougars (4-8, 2-2 NACC) gave them their largest lead of the game at 18-7 with 3:45 remaining. Wisconsin Lutheran tallied the next seven points to cut its deficit to four, and freshman
Alexis Beger (Plymouth, Wis.) capped the opening stanza scoring with a three-point play to bring the Warriors within 21-19 after one period. CUC forced nine turnovers and turned them into a 13-3 scoring advantage.
Freshman
Lauren Riesop (Phoenix, Ariz.) gave WLC its first lead since the early stages of the first quarter at 28-25 with a three-pointer at the 7:41 mark. Concordia Chicago regained the lead back briefly with four straight points, before sophomore
Abby Cole (Fond du lac, Wis.) netted seven of Wisconsin Lutheran's next nine points during a 13-2 scoring stretch. The Warriors' lead reached a first-half best 15 points as senior
Jayden Hill (Kenosha, Wis.) tallied six points over the final two-and-a-half minutes for a 50-35 halftime lead.
WLC's lead never dipped below 14 points in the third quarter. Consecutive three-pointers from Stevens and Riesop fueled an 8-0 run that pushed Wisconsin Lutheran's advantage to 23 points with 5:34 left. The Warriors maintained at least a 20-point lead for the remainder of the period, as they led 69-48 heading into the final frame.
The fourth quarter mirrored the rest of the afternoon, as WLC shot 58.3 percent from the floor. Cole, Hill, and sophomore
Lily Oiler (Watertown, Wis.) scored five points apiece as Wisconsin Lutheran netted the final 10 points of the game while holding the Cougars scoreless en route to the 32-point triumph.
Wisconsin Lutheran finished the game shooting 57.7 percent (30-for-52) from the field, knocking down nine three-pointers at a 42.9 percent clip and converting 20-of-24 free throws (83.3 percent). Cole led the way with 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. Stevens and Hill each scored 13 points, while freshman
Maddie Ratzow (Oconomowoc, Wis.) added 11 and Beger chipped in 10 and six assists. The Warriors recorded 26 assists on 30 made field goals.
WLC dominated points in the paint (36-18), second-chance points (12-0), fast-break points (14-7), and bench scoring (30-17).
CUC shot 38.2 percent (21-for-55) from the field and was led by Grace King with 13 points and Ai Yonemura with 12. King also pulled down a team-high three rebounds.
Wisconsin Lutheran returns to action on Saturday, January 10, hosting Concordia Wisconsin (2-10, 3-3 NACC) at 1 p.m. for Alumni Day. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
