GRINNELL, Iowa — The Lawrence University women’s basketball team saw its rally come up short Friday night as Grinnell College hung on for a 53-46 Midwest Conference victory at Darby Gymnasium.
Jessica Vaverka paced Grinnell (3-7, 2-5 MWC) with 13 points, and Brianna Gallo added 10 points and five steals.
Alex Deshler scored 13 points to lead Lawrence (0-12, 0-7). Katie Condon added 12 points and Kanesha Walker had 10. Nakita Chadwick pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the Vikings.
After a tight first half, Grinnell began to pull away early in the second half and built its lead to as many as nine points midway through the second half.
Deshler scored eight points in an 11-2 Lawrence run that trimmed Grinnell’s lead to 40-38 with 7:03 left in the game.
The Pioneers built the lead back to nine at 47-38 with 4:36 left, but Condon answered with back-to-back 3-pointers for the Vikings to cut the margin to 47-44 with 2:12 remaining. Condon hit 4 of 7 shots from beyond the 3-point line.
Gallo hit a pair of free throws for Grinnell, but Deshler answered with a jumper to cut the lead to 49-46 with 1:47 left.
The teams traded missed shots before Toluwaloju Alabi’s layup put Grinnell up 51-46 with 32 seconds left. The Vikings then turned the ball over, and Grinnell hit two free throws in the final 13 seconds to seal the victory.
Lawrence returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Monmouth College.