A late comeback by Lakeland University came up short as St. Norbert College defeated the Muskies 59-50 in both teams' women's basketball regular season opener Friday night at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Green Knights came up with clutch baskets down the stretch and earned the win in the debut for new coach Amanda Leonhard-Perry. St. Norbert also won a matchup of future Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference rivals when St. Norbert joins Lakeland's current conference next year.

The Muskies chased the Green Knights for most of the final 30 minutes of the contest, frequently close but unable to get over the hump once SNC took the lead on a layup by Hannah Gibbons 19 seconds into the second quarter.

Lakeland made a run in the second half, cutting a 12-point lead down to two with a basket inside by Megan Will (Jr.-Lake Mills, Wis.) with 4 minutes, 7 seconds left. The Green Knights scored on their next possession though with a bucket by Sarah Neumann near the end of the shot clock, added a jumper by Macie Zurfluh with 2:50 left, and applied a dagger on their next trip down. St. Norbert grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds and scored on its third chance with a basket by Hannah Ciesielczyk with 1:24 remaining for a 57-49 lead.

Rebounding was a key factor as the Green Knights finished with a 49-26 advantage on the glass, including 18 offensive rebounds. St. Norbert turned that into an 18-6 advantage in second chance points, and also received key contributions from reserves with 32 points from its bench.

The Muskies struggled from the field, making 19 of 51 shots (37.3%), including 5 of 23 from three-point range (21.7%). Janai' Farr (Jr.-Racine, Wis.) helped Lakeland stay close with a team-high 13 points with three three-pointers, including triples at the end of the second and third quarters, the latter bringing the Muskies within 49-41 with 10 minutes to play.

Will added 11 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots while Kacey Gardner (So.-Evergreen Park, Ill.) and Amanda Majewski (Sr.-Peshtigo, Wis.) added seven points each. Gardner also finished with a game-high six assists.

Neumann and Liz Edinger both scored 11 points each off the bench to lead St. Norbert, which shot 40.4% (23 of 57). Zurfluh added nine points and nine rebounds as the Green Knights continued their all-time dominance of the Muskies, improving to 19-0 in the first meeting since 2012 and just the third meeting between the programs since Lakeland last hosted SNC in 1985.

The Muskies take to the road next to face Wheaton College Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a non-conference game in Wheaton, Ill.