STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point used a big second quarter to gain the upper hand and the Lakeland University women's basketball team was defeated 69-51 Tuesday night on the road in non-conference play.
The Pointers scored 26 points in the second quarter on the way to a 37-21 halftime lead and stayed undefeated at 5-0 this season. Lakeland dropped to 0-5 against a tough early season schedule that now has included three games against teams from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The Muskies trailed by three after the first quarter but UWSP began stretching the lead out, first with seven straight points to start the quarter to take an 18-8 lead. Lakeland was back within eight midway through the quarter after a basket by
Ariana Vaitkeviciute (
So.-Merrionette Park, Ill.), but the Pointers put together another 12-3 run, with Maija Rice's jumper making it 32-15, the hosts' biggest lead of the half.
The Muskies got no closer than 14 points early in the second half, with Stevens Point leading by as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter. Lakeland did finish with its best quarter, outscoring UWSP 19-16 over the final 10 minutes.
Lauryn Johnson (
Sr.-Kenosha, Wis.) and
Alexis Johnson (
Sr.-Sheboygan, Wis.) led the Muskies with 11 points each, and
Lauryn Johnson added four rebounds.
A.T. Bartlett (
Sr.-Farmington Hills, Mich.) also scored seven points and Vaitkeviciute added six points and four rebounds plus a career-high four steals.
The Muskies shot 35.3%, making 18 of 51 shots. Lakeland received 31 of its 51 points from the bench, holding a 31-20 advantage in bench points in the game.
Karissa Smith led UW-Stevens Point with 19 points including five three-pointers. The Pointers shot 40.3% (25 of 62) including 9 of 19 from three-point range and also added 20 offensive rebounds turned into 25 points.
Lakeland is now off for the Thanksgiving holiday and returns to play next Wednesday, Dec. 3 when it travels to face Illinois Tech in its Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opener in Chicago at 7 p.m.
