WAUWATOSA, Wis. – Wisconsin Lutheran College's Sam Leisemann drove for the game-winning layup with six seconds left and a valiant effort by the Lakeland University women's basketball team came up just short in a 52-51 loss in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday night.
Leisemann answered with the winning basket just seconds after
Kerstin Sauerbrei (
So.-Ripon, Wis.) hit a three-pointer to give Lakeland the lead. The eighth-seeded Muskies put the ultimate scare into the No. 1 seed, regular season champion and nationally ranked Warriors, going down to the final second before Wisconsin Lutheran (21-1 overall) held on to advance to face fourth-seeded Edgewood College in the NACC Tournament semifinals, while Lakeland saw its season end with a 13-13 record.
The Muskies left a memorable final impression on their 2021-22 season, just missing out on becoming the first No. 8 seed to knock off a top seed in the NACC Tournament. Lakeland rallied all the way back from an 18-point deficit on the road against a Lutheran team ranked No. 20 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, that won 20 straight games to start the season before a three-point loss to St. Norbert College in its regular season finale last week, and that defeated the Muskies by 21 points in their previous meeting 22 days earlier.
Sauerbrei's three with 11.7 seconds left-her first made triple of the contest-capped a long comeback from way down in the second half. Lakeland trailed by 18 points on three occasions in the third quarter and by 17 late in the third before going on a 19-2 run capped by
Alexa Yost (
So.-Menasha, Wis.) banking in a runner to tie the score at 44-44 with 4 minutes, 35 seconds left in the game. It was the closest the Muskies had been since leading 9-8 midway through the first quarter, just before WLC went on a 19-1 run of its own to take control of the game.
The Warriors retook the lead at 47-44 on a three-pointer by Jenna Mace with 3:14 left, but
Kacey Gardner (
Sr.-Evergreen Park, Ill.) answered with a jumper to get Lakeland back within one. Lutheran pushed the lead back to three on an offensive rebound and putback by Kaitlyn Shadoski with 1:24 left, and went up four when Kalies Birkholz made the second of two free throws with 52 seconds to play.
Ellie Felsinger (
Jr.-Cedar Grove, Wis.) answered with two free throws with 36 seconds left, and the decision to foul Birkholz on WLC's next possession paid off as she missed both free throws, giving the Muskies a chance to tie or take the lead. Sauerbrei received the ball on the right wing with time ticking down, dribbled right once, crossed over to her left, then stepped back and drained a 23-footer for a 51-50 lead.
The Warriors took a timeout and advanced the ball to the frontcourt, and Leisemann inbounded from the sideline, then quickly posted up on the left block. She received the ball, drove hard to her right and scored on a contested layup with 6.3 seconds left. Out of timeouts, Lakeland had to go the full court for one final chance, but Sauerbrei's three-pointer from the right wing was off target as time expired.
The Muskies' effort to even get back into the game was extraordinary after WLC took control with a big offensive flourish to finish the first quarter. The Warriors led 25-10 after one period, scoring 17 points in the final four minutes to pull well ahead in the first half, just as they did in the teams' first meeting Feb. 1 when a 22-2 first-half run proved to be the major difference in the game.
Lakeland struggled mightily from the field in the first half, making 6 of 27 shots (22.2%), but scratched and clawed in the second and third quarters to not let the Warriors extend the lead further. Lutheran led 33-17 at halftime and was still ahead 42-25 late in the third when the Muskies began to chip away.
Morgan Zenon (
Sr.-Twin Lakes, Wis.) made two free throws, Yost scored inside and Gardner made two free throws to cut the WLC lead to 42-31 at the end of three quarters.
Lakeland continued to cut into the lead first by shutting down the Warriors, allowing just one field goal in a span of over 9 1/2 minutes, and also by going inside and getting to the free throw line. Felsinger and Gardner combined for eight straight points, Zenon scored in the paint to get the Muskies within 44-41 with 6:25 left, and Gardner made one of two free throws to trim the WLC lead to 44-42.
Felsinger tied her career high with 17 points and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field plus 5 of 6 from the free throw line. Gardner also posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, Zenon contributed eight points off the bench and Yost scored six points.
Brianna Jones (
Jr.-Indianapolis, Ind.) added five points plus a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Muskies finished shooting 31.5% (17 of 54) and were 1 of 5 from three-point range, shut out from deep until Sauerbrei's shot for the lead in the closing seconds. Lakeland stayed in the game committing just six turnovers and made 16 of 24 from the foul line (66.7%), including 11 of 12 in the second half.
Leisemann led Wisconsin Lutheran with 16 points and added 11 rebounds. Mace also scored 10 points and added 10 rebounds. The Warriors shot 30.0% (21 of 70), including just 22.2% (8 of 36) in the second half. WLC posted a 50-42 rebounding advantage, including 18 offensive rebounds.
No. 1 seeds improved to 9-0 all-time in the NACC Tournament against No. 8 seeds. The previous closest shave for a top seed in the NACC quarterfinals before came in 2010, when No. 1 Concordia University Wisconsin held off 8 seed Milwaukee School of Engineering 59-53.
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