Kaitlyn Jacobs finished with a near triple-double for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and the Lakeland College women's basketball team was defeated 67-52 in its home opener Tuesday night at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
Jacobs was the difference in the game, finishing with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in addition to making 8 of 10 shots from the field. The Pointers won the first meeting between the schools in 16 years and improved to 3-2, while Lakeland dropped to 0-2.
The Muskies were playing for the first time since their season opener 10 days ago and for the second straight game hung around against a strong opponent, this time despite shooting 33.3% (18 of 54) for the game. That included a 4-for-24 mark in the first half in which no Lakeland player scored more than four points.
The Muskies trailed 28-17 at halftime but stayed in the game with the three-point ball. The Pointers started the second half with two quick buckets, but Lakeland responded with three-pointers on three consecutive possessions.
C.J. Usadel (
Fr.-Sheboygan, Wis.) banked one in and
Bailey Grayvold (
So.-Norway, Mich.) hit a pair as part of a 9-2 run that got Lakeland within 34-26.
UW-Stevens Point bounced back with a three-point play by Allie Miceli and a basket by Jacobs, and the Pointers maintained a comfortable working margin the rest of the way. The closest Lakeland got was when Grayvold and
Trista Barron (
Jr.-Escanaba, Mich.) hit back-to-back three-pointers, with Barron's cutting the UWSP lead to 48-39 with 10:33 to play.
Grayvold nearly matched Jacobs for all-around performance, finishing with 15 points and adding tying for team highs with six rebounds and five assists.
Maddy Doll (
Fr.-Florence, Wis.) also added six boards as well as four blocked shots and
Kayla Clark (
So.-West Bend, Wis.) finished with five assists.
Mickey Roland added 11 points off the bench for Stevens Point, which shot 47.4% (27 of 57) and also won the rebounding battle 39-31.
The Muskies open Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play on Saturday when they travel to face Concordia University Chicago at 2 p.m. in River Forest, Ill.
