AURORA, Ill. (WLCSports.com) – Junior
Margie Stevens (Oneida, Wis.) surpassed 1,000 career points and netted 15 of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to lead Wisconsin Lutheran College to a 70-64 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win over Aurora on Wednesday at Thornton Gymnasium.
The Warriors (15-5, 12-1 NACC) led 4-2 with over three minutes gone by in the first quarter, but a five-minute scoring drought put the Spartans in front 10-4. A pair of paint baskets from senior
Jayden Hill (Kenosha, Wis.) and freshman
Kenly Frey (Brookfield, Wis.) brought WLC within 10-8 after the opening quarter. Both teams combined to shoot just 8-for-32 from the floor in the period.
Wisconsin Lutheran trailed by three points two minutes into the second quarter, but AU tallied five in a row to lead by eight at 17-9 at the 7:11 mark. Sophomore
Abby Cole (Fond du Lac, Wis.) brought the Warriors within two after her layup made it 20-18 with 3:45 remaining. Aurora scored the final six points of the quarter to take a 26-18 lead into halftime.
WLC scored the first five points of the third quarter to trim its deficit to three, but the Spartans extended their lead back to eight at 33-25 near the five-and-a-half minute mark. The margin grew to as many as nine points in the final minute, before Frey's fast break layup cut the deficit to 38-31 after three quarters.
Frey gave Wisconsin Lutheran its first lead since early in the first quarter when her layup made it 39-38 with 6:35 left. AU regained the lead on its next possession, and after a pair of ties, pulled ahead for a seven-point lead with just 1:20 to play. The Warriors, however, trimmed it to a one possession game for the final 0:42 seconds. Hill's rebound putback with 2.8 seconds left had WLC within one at 56-55, but her ensuing free throw was off the mark. After Aurora made one of two free throw attempts with 1.8 seconds on the clock, WLC executed a game-tying sideline inbounds play when Cole found Stevens for a layup and a foul with 0.4 seconds left to even the score at 57-57. Stevens' eventual game-winning free throw was unsuccessful, forcing overtime.
Wisconsin Lutheran scored the first seven points of the extra session, and Stevens netted seven consecutive points for a 66-59 lead with 2:59 remaining. The Spartans came no closer than four points the rest of the way, as the Warriors sealed the game at the charity stripe, going 4-for-4 in the final 0:26 seconds. WLC was perfect in the period, making all three field goal attempts and all six free throws.
Wisconsin Lutheran finished the game shooting 44.1 percent (26-for-59). Stevens stuffed the stat sheet with a game-high tying 20 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks. She surpassed 1,000 career points with a layup at the 4:25 mark of the fourth quarter, becoming the 20th player in program history to reach the milestone. Frey finished with 16 points, while Hill recorded her second double-double in the last three games with 12 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
Kylie Fischbach scored 20 points to pace AU (17-4, 9-3 NACC), while Krystyna Manzanarez added 17 points. Fischbach and Alina Anderson each grabbed seven rebounds. Aurora finished the night shooting 33.3 percent (20-for-60).
The Warriors return to Time of Grace Center on Saturday, February 7, hosting Concordia Chicago (8-12, 7-6 NACC) at 1 p.m. for National Girls & Women in Sports Day. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
