MILWAUKEE – Wisconsin Lutheran College set a blistering pace with a 46-point first half and the Lakeland University women's basketball team saw its 10-game winning streak end with a 71-45 setback on the road Wednesday night.
A midseason showdown for first place in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference went the way of the Warriors, who shot 51.5% in the first half on the way to a 22-point halftime lead and cruised the rest of the way. WLC never trailed in improving to 15-1 overall and 11-1 in conference, while the Muskies lost for the first time since Nov. 27 and dropped to 13-3 overall and 9-2 in the NACC.
Lakeland did not have its best night, shooting just 30.4% (14 of 46) and committing 16 turnovers. Nine of the turnovers came in the second quarter, when Wisconsin Lutheran followed up a 24-point first quarter with a 22-9 advantage to build a 46-24 halftime lead.
The Warriors went on separate runs of 12-2 and 18-2 in the first half. The first came in the opening quarter as WLC built a 20-9 lead, while the latter in the second quarter turned a competitive 26-18 contest into a 44-20 bulge late in the first half.
The Muskies outscored WLC 16-7 in the third quarter, briefly cutting the deficit to 17 on two occasions. Lakeland never warmed up from the field in the second half, though, shooting 7 of 25 over the final 20 minutes (28.0%) even as it held the Warriors to 27.6% marksmanship over that time (8 of 29).
Amanda Majewski (
Jr.-Peshtigo, Wis.) provided a bright spot, scoring 12 points and making 3 of 4 from three-point range.
Megan Will (
So.-Lake Mills, Wis.) also scored 10 points and added seven rebounds, while
Rachel Hasko (
Jr.-Racine, Wis.) added five points plus three assists.
Jen Dowden, the NACC Player of the Year last season, scored a game-high 26 points, including 14 in the first quarter alone. Amanda Brug also added 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Warriors, who finished shooting 25 of 62 (40.3%) and also outrebounded Lakeland 44-28.
The Muskies are on the road again Saturday when they travel to face Aurora University at 2 p.m. in Aurora, Ill.
