A sour third quarter put a damper on the Lakeland University women's basketball team's long-awaited season opener, as Concordia University Wisconsin rallied for a 55-50 win Friday night at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium in the first game of the teams' two-game Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference series.
The Falcons finished the third period on a 17-4 run, taking control of a previously close game and putting the Muskies in a hole too big to climb out of. Lakeland chipped away in the final minutes but fell in its belated 2020-21 season debut as well as the first game for
Amber Peterson as head coach.
Concordia (3-1 overall) went on a 26-7 run over just over six minutes of the third quarter and the opening minute of the fourth, turning a 31-27 deficit into a 53-38 lead. Emily Hafemann scored 10 of her game-high in the stretch and Hannah Boettcher made two three-pointers, including one in the final seconds of the third for a 51-38 lead.
Lakeland would never lead again, even as it fought back in the fourth quarter and even held the guests without a point for the game's final 8:10. The Muskies' were able to make only progress cutting into the lead, though, not trimming CUW's margin to single digits until
Kacey Gardner (
Jr.-Evergreen Park, Ill.) hit a jumper with 2:54 left and getting no closer than the final margin.
Lakeland had bright spots, including shooting 42.3% from the field (22 of 52) while holding Concordia to 17 of 55 shooting (30.9%).
Megan Will (
Sr.-Lake Mills, Wis.) scored 16 points, making 8 of 10 shots from the field, and added six rebounds and three assists. Gardner also added nine points, six rebounds and three assists and
Abby Nylund (
Sr.-Crystal Falls, Mich.) added eight points off the bench.
Foul trouble proved to be a major issue for Lakeland. Will and sat for spells in both the second and third quarters, and the Muskies were on the wrong end of an 18-7 foul differential that resulted in Concordia finishing with a 16-3 advantage in free throws made.
Before the foul problems settled in, Lakeland was able to work through a slow start to build an 11-point first half lead. The Muskies took a 19-8 lead in the second quarter as Will made her first four shots, and even after the Falcons closed back in the hosts still held a 26-24 lead at halftime.
Lakeland still led 31-27 after a
Janai' Farr (
Sr.-Racine, Wis.) free throw with 7:10 left in the third quarter. Boettcher hit a three to put Concordia back in front, though, and after
Alexa Yost (
Fr.-Menasha, Wis.) tied the game at 34-34 with a three-pointer of her own it was Hafemann converting her second three-point play of the period to put CUW ahead for good.
The Muskies did most of their work inside and made just 3 of 15 from three-point range. Lakeland held a 28-22 advantage in points in the paint and also posted a 17-4 lead in bench points.
Hafemann added eight rebounds to her game-high points total for Concordia. Boettcher also scored 14 points, hitting four three-pointers.
Lakeland and Concordia will meet again Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Wolzen Gymnasium, with the teams' two games in two days part of the new NACC schedule for this year aiming to limit travel.
