AURORA, Ill. – The Lakeland University women's basketball team stayed alive in its chase for a spot in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament with a 93-86 win over Aurora University in double overtime Tuesday night.
Hayley Walding (
So.-Bradenton, Fla.) scored a career-high 27 points and
Megan Will (
Jr.-Lake Mills, Wis.) and
Rachel Hasko (
Sr.-Racine, Wis.) also notched career bests as the Muskies earned a split of two games against the Spartans this season. Lakeland almost moved into a tie with Aurora in the loss column in the NACC standings as the teams enter their final games of regular season play.
The Muskies (10-13 overall, 10-8 NACC) came back from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and from six points down with three minutes left in regulation. Lakeland finished the fourth period outscoring the Spartans (13-9 overall, 9-8 NACC) 8-2 the rest of the way, with Walding's layup with six seconds left tying the game at 72-72.
Lakeland led much of the first overtime, but Meija Rabi scored off the glass with five seconds left to tie the game again at 83-83 and send it to another extra session. Aurora scored the first point on a free throw by Julie Galauner, but the Muskies would finish outscoring the hosts 10-3 in the second overtime, making all but two of its points on free throws.
Lakeland wore out the path to the free throw line, shooting 47 foul shots, 27 more than Aurora. The Muskies hit 29 of 47 from the line (61.7%), and the fouls also took a toll on the Spartans, who saw four starters foul out.
Walding made 10 of 16 shots from the floor, including 4 of 5 three-pointers. The sophomore guard made her first start of the season and more than doubled her previous career high of 12 set earlier this year.
Will also finished with 26 points and tied her career high with 15 rebounds. Hasko also scored a career-best 13 points off the bench, making 5 of 8 shots from the field.
Lakeland now gets ready to host conference-leading Benedictine University Saturday at 4:15 p.m. The Eagles will enter with a 17-0 record in the NACC, and it will be Senior Day and the final home game for five Muskies seniors.
