Aurora University came back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter and dealt the Lakeland University women's basketball team a tough 69-63 loss Saturday at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Spartans outscored the Muskies 29-8 over the final ten minutes, coming back after trailing much of the game to win an important game in the battle for position in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. Aurora won the first of two meetings between the teams over the next 11 days and moved into a tie with Lakeland in the conference standings, with both teams sitting at 8-7 in league play with five games left.

Lakeland (8-12 overall) led 55-40 heading into the final quarter, but it took Aurora (11-8 overall) just 3 minutes, 28 seconds to erase that deficit. Meija Rabi posted game highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Spartans, including 14 points and seven boards in the fourth quarter alone, and her two free throws with 6:32 left in the game tied it at 56-56.

The Muskies went back ahead when Morgan Zenon (So.-Twin Lakes, Wis.) split two free throws 14 seconds later, and they would hold a tenuous lead the next four minutes until Karissa King hit a three-pointer to tie it at 63-63 with 2:20 left. Aurora took its first lead since the first quarter just over a minute later when Rabi made two more free throws, and she would add four more foul shots in the final 13 seconds to salt the game away.

Everything seemed to be in Lakeland's favor through the first three quarters, when the Muskies held Aurora to 30 points and kept NACC leading scorer Julie Galauner largely in check. Lakeland made five three-pointers in the first half, built a 34-24 halftime lead and held a double-digit lead for almost the entire third quarter.

The Muskies made just two field goals in the fourth quarter, and the Spartans also made hay at the foul line, making 15 of 16 from the stripe in the final quarter. Lakeland struggled from the line, hitting just 4 of 13 there in the fourth quarter and 18 of 33 for the game (54.5%).

Rachel Hasko (Sr.-Racine, Wis.) led the Muskies with a career-high 12 points, including a three-pointer at the second quarter buzzer and another baseline jumper to beat the third quarter buzzer and give Lakeland its largest lead of the game. Zenon and Janai' Farr (Jr.-Racine, Wis.) both added eight points each, with Kacey Gardner (So.-Evergreen Park, Ill.)  also posting a career-best 11 rebounds plus six assists. Amanda Majewski (Sr.-Peshtigo, Wis.) also added seven points, five rebounds and four steals.

Rabi made 4 of 11 from the field but 13 of 16 from the free throw line. Galauner finished with 18 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, and also added six rebounds and five assists, and King also scored 13 points.

Both teams made 20 of 52 shots from the field (38.5%). Aurora hit 8 of 24 from three-point range (33.3%), while Lakeland finished 5 of 19 from deep (26.3%) after missing all seven of its attempts in the second half.

The Muskies are home again Wednesday when they host Milwaukee School of Engineering at 7 p.m.