MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Top-seeded Wisconsin Lutheran College extended its winning streak to 13 games with a 67-41 victory over fourth-seeded Milwaukee School of Engineering in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinal on Friday at Time of Grace Center.
The Warriors (22-5) advance to host second-seeded St. Norbert (18-7) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the NACC Tournament Final. It marks the fifth consecutive year WLC and SNC will meet for the conference tournament title. Wisconsin Lutheran's only league loss this season came to the Green Knights, 64-53, on January 14 in De Pere.
After the Raiders briefly tied the game twice in the first quarter, including 7-7, the Warriors answered with a 7-0 run capped by a sophomore
Abby Cole (Fond du Lac, Wis.) buzzer-beating three-pointer. Cole's triple with one second remaining gave WLC a 14-7 lead after one. Wisconsin Lutheran limited MSOE to 2-of-8 shooting (25.0 percent) in the quarter.
Freshman
Kenly Frey's (Brookfield, Wis.) three-pointer at the 9:43 mark of the second quarter pushed the lead to 10, and she extended the margin to 31-18 after a pair of free throws with 4:31 remaining. Milwaukee School of Engineering countered with a brief 5-0 spurt, trimming the deficit to eight, but the Warriors closed the half on a strong note as a layup from junior
Margie Stevens (Oneida, Wis.) in the final minute sent WLC into the locker room with a 39-28 advantage. Wisconsin Lutheran shot 58.8 percent (10-of-17) in the quarter, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, as Frey finished with 11 points.
Defense dominated the third period. Although the Warriors went 0-for-12 from the field in the frame, they converted 6-of-6 free throws and held the Raiders to just two points, taking a 45-30 lead into the fourth.
Senior
Jayden Hill's (Kenosha, Wis.) layup at the 8:43 mark of the fourth quarter snapped a 12:43 field goal drought for WLC, and a 10-0 run pushed the lead beyond 20. The margin grew to as many as 28 in the closing minutes after freshman
Madeline Leffel's (Germantown, Wis.) three-point play.
Stevens and Frey each scored 15 points to lead Wisconsin Lutheran, while Cole added 13. Stevens also led the Warriors with eight rebounds. WLC shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the field and 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) at the free-throw line. Wisconsin Lutheran led for 37:54 of the 40 minutes and never trailed.
For MSOE (18-7), Lana Kerley scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Shelby Glodowski added 10 points. Milwaukee School of Engineering shot 32.0 percent (16-for-50) from the floor.
