PLYMOUTH, Wis. – The Lakeland University women's basketball team made a run late in the game but was defeated by Aurora University 81-68 Saturday afternoon at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Muskies cut a 27-point second half lead down to 11 in the final minutes to make things interesting, but turnovers were too much to overcome as Lakeland lost its third straight game, falling to 7-11 overall and 4-6 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. Aurora continued as one of the top teams in the NACC, improving to 15-3 overall and 7-2 in league play.

The Spartans shot 48.5% for the game, making 32 of 66 shots from the field, and strong shooting netted the guests a 46-24 halftime lead. Aurora made 18 of 35 shots in the first half, a number of them coming off layups with 22 points scored off of 19 Lakeland turnovers before halftime.

The Muskies played better after halftime, outscoring the Spartans 44-35 over the final 20 minutes, including 24 points in the third quarter and 20 points in the fourth. Lakeland made seven three-pointers in the second half, including a 30-footer at the third quarter buzzer by A.T. Bartlett (Sr.-Farmington Hills, Mich.) to cut Aurora's lead to 66-48.

The Muskies crept even closer late in the fourth. With the Spartans staying in a zone defense, Bartlett hit two more three-pointers, and a triple from the left corner by Lydia Levra (So.-Elk Mound, Wis.) made it 76-64 with 3 minutes, 50 seconds left in the game. Lakeland eventually got as close as 11 points at 79-68 with 1:03 left on a layup by Lauryn Johnson (Sr.-Kenosha, Wis.).

Bartlett tied a career high with 22 points, including 20 points in the second half, and finished making 7 of 12 field goals including 4 of 9 from three-point range. Alexis Johnson (Sr.-Sheboygan, Wis.) and Sadie Grabow (So.-Bourbonnais, Ill.) both added 11 points and four steals each, including Grabow making three three-pointers. Jiaryatou Cisse (Jr.-Harrison, Mich.) also added eight points plus a game-high 11 rebounds.

Lakeland shot 41.4% for the game, making 24 of 58 field goals. The Muskies also made 8 of 26 from three-point range (30.8%).

Krystyna Manzanarez scored 23 points to lead Aurora and Elizabeth Griswold came off the bench to score 17 points and added nine rebounds and three blocked shots. The Spartans posted a 41-35 rebounding edge and a 31-14 lead in points off turnovers.

Lakeland is home again Wednesday when it welcomes Illinois Tech for a 7 p.m. start at the Woltzen Gymnasium.