MILWAUKEE – Wisconsin Lutheran College pounced early and the Lakeland University women's basketball team bowed out of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament North Division semifinals with a 73-43 loss Thursday night at WLC's Recreation Complex.
The fourth-seeded Muskies finished their season with a 6-6 overall record after the top seed Warriors completed a three-game sweep of the Muskies this season. WLC advanced to the North Division final Saturday against second-seeded Edgewood College, which rallied past No. 3 Concordia University Wisconsin 61-51 in Thursday's other semifinal.
Wisconsin Lutheran dominated almost from the start while Lakeland couldn't buy a shot in the first half. The Warriors never trailed and outscored the Muskies 26-4 in the first quarter, including an 18-0 run to take a 20-2 lead 7 1/2 minutes into the contest.
Lakeland came into the game on a four-game winning streak but could never get started offensively. The Muskies made just 4 of 26 shots in the first half (15.4%) and WLC took a 41-11 lead into halftime. Lakeland made a brief run after the break, scoring the first seven points out of halftime including five from
Alexa Yost (
Fr.-Menasha, Wis.), but Lutheran responded with a 7-0 run of its own and never led by less than 25 the rest of the game.
The Warriors were efficient offensively, shooting 47.1% (24 of 51), outrebounded the Muskies 39-32 and also forced 23 turnovers. WLC also was successful again with its strategy of double- and triple-teaming Lakeland's
Megan Will (
Sr.-Lake Mills, Wis.) every time she touched the ball, and the Muskies' leading scorer was held to two points.
The Muskies finished the game shooting 28.3% (15 of 53), including 4 of 24 from three-point range, and their 43 points were a season low.
Kacey Gardner (
Jr.-Evergreen Park, Ill.) led Lakeland with 15 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Yost added nine points and four rebounds, while Will posted a game-high nine rebounds and added two steals.
Jenna Mace led Wisconsin Lutheran with a game-high 16 points and Kaitlyn Shadoski added 10 points. Thirteen different players scored for the Warriors.
