FOND DU LAC, Wis. – Lakeland University came back from a 16-point second half deficit to take the lead late before its comeback ran out of steam while Marian University rallied back to top the Muskies 66-62 Tuesday night in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference women's basketball play.

The Sabres went on a 7-0 run in the final minutes and went on to defeat the Muskies for the first time since 2015, snapping a 12-game losing streak to Lakeland in the series. The Muskies lost while playing their third game in four days and dropped to 8-8 overall and 4-5 in the NACC.

Lakeland fought back after Marian (6-11 overall, 4-7 NACC) had taken control of the game with a 17-2 run spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second. The Sabres turned a one-point lead late in the second quarter into a 46-30 advantage on a layup by Sierra Strope-Robinson with 5 minutes, 49 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Muskies were able to trim the deficit down to ten by the end of the third and scored the first six points of the fourth quarter, getting within 52-48 when Kacey Gardner (Sr.-Evergreen Park, Ill.) made the first of two free throws. The Sabres pushed the margin back to seven before Lakeland went on an 8-0 run, capped by Brianna Jones (Jr.-Indianapolis, Ind.) continuing a career game on the boards with an offensive rebound and putback by for a 58-57 lead with 3:11 left in the game.

Marian's Claire Levendoski responded with a jumper to put the Sabres ahead and then hit a three-pointer with 2:13 left for a 62-58 lead. Paris Harris also hit two free throws with 52 seconds left for a 64-58 lead, which proved to be enough as the Muskies went cold in the final minutes. Lakeland went scoreless for more than three minutes until Jones scored with ten seconds left to, but Strope-Robinson made two foul shots with seven seconds left to put it away, with Sydney Walker (So.-Flint, Mich.) scoring the final points on a layup just before time expired.

The Muskies were unable to sustain a strong start when they made 10 of 18 shots in taking a 21-15 lead after one quarter. Gardner scored eight points early and Lakeland led by as much as seven at 24-17 early in the second quarter before Marian came back and took a 34-29 halftime lead.

Both teams struggled from the field with the Muskies shooting 24 of 72 (33.3%) and the Sabres hitting 21 of 62 shots (33.9%). Marian held a big advantage at the free throw line, shooting nearly twice as many foul shots as Lakeland and making 19 of 27 (70.4%) while the Muskies hit 8 of 14 (57.1%).

Gardner led the Muskies with 18 points and added eight rebounds and six assists while Jones added nine points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Lauren Downs (Jr.-West Bend, Wis.) also scored nine points and grabbed a career-best eight rebounds and Kirsten Sauerbrei (So.-Ripon, Wis.) added eight points.

Paris Harris led Marian with 18 points and 17 rebounds, Strope-Robinson added 15 points and Brianna Martin also scored 14 points. Levendoski also added nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Muskies are on the road again Saturday when they take on Illinois Institute of Technology for the second time this week, this time on the road in Chicago at 2 p.m.