Blackburn College Beavers (2-6 overall)
at Lakeland University Muskies (3-7 overall)
Monday, Dec. 19, 2022Â Â 1 p.m.
Woltzen Gymnasium
Lakeland/Blackburn Game Notes  PDF
The Lakeland University women's basketball team plays for the final time in this calendar year, briefly interrupting a quiet 3 1/2-week stretch when it hosts Blackburn (Ill.) College at 1 p.m. Monday afternoon at the Woltzen Gymnasium.
The Muskies will play their final non-conference game of the season and their only game in a stretch from Dec. 11 through Jan. 3. Lakeland has been off since Dec. 10, and won't play again until 2023, when it begins the heart of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference schedule with a trip to Concordia University Wisconsin Jan. 4.
Broadcast Information:
Live video & live statistics:Â
http://www.lakelandmuskies.com/muskieslive. Andy Damp is again calling the play-by-play for all Lakeland home basketball games this year.
Series history:Â 2nd meeting, Lakeland leads 1-0
The Muskies and Beavers just met for the first time last year on Blackburn's home court in Carlinville, Ill., with Lakeland scoring a 75-59 win. The game was close entering the fourth quarter when the Muskies outscored the hosts 29-17 to close out the win.
Kacey Gardner scored 20 points and added a career-high 16 rebounds, making 12 of 18 from the free throw line.
Alexa Yost added a career-high 14 points and Lakeland held Blackburn to 23.5% shooting. The game was just the second-ever for the Muskies against a current member of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and first since Lakeland fell to Webster (Mo.) 48-33 in the second round of the 2002 NCAA Division III Tournament.
Lakeland last time out: Lost at Aurora 71-61 Dec. 10
The Muskies have been idle for nine days since their Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference loss on the road to the Spartans. Lakeland led for most of the game's first 28 minutes, but Aurora closed the third quarter on a 10-0 run to take the lead and pulled away again after the Muskies closed within four in the fourth quarter.
Sydney Walker finished with eight steals, one short of the Lakeland single-game record set by Becca Tilleman in 2011.
Lauren Downs and
Kacey Gardner scored 11 points each,
Ellie Felsinger finished with 10 points and Walker added seven points and seven rebounds.
Blackburn last time out: Lost at Mount Mary 81-78 last night
The Beavers began a three-day tour of Wisconsin with a loss last night in Milwaukee to the Blue Angels. The teams went back-and-forth all game with 17 lead changes and six ties, but Mount Mary made a three-pointer with 3:40 left in the game to go ahead and stayed in front the rest of the way. Blackburn cut a six-point deficit down with less than a minute left down to one point but missed a tying three-point attempt at the buzzer. Mariah Hopson scored 17 points to lead four Beavers scoring in double figures, and Aryanna Harris added 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
About the Beavers: Blackburn comes in with a 2-6 record against a diverse schedule that has included NCAA Division II, III and NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) opponents and that includes wins over Maranatha Baptist and Emmaus Bible (Iowa). The Beavers finished 5-20 overall last year and 3-11 to place seventh in the SLIAC. Blackburn is led by second-year coach Daniel Johnson, who took over a program that hasn't posted a winning season since 2009-10.
Consistent Mac: Lakeland freshman
Mackenzie Miller has proven to be one of the most consistent Muskies already in her rookie season. The 6-foot post leads in scoring averaging 10.4 ppg, and she has scored in double figures in six of 10 games. Miller has scored at least eight points in each of Lakeland's last eight games, and she also paces the team in rebounding (5.6 rpg) and field goal percentage (51.8%).
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