The Marian University women’s basketball team rallied early in the second half and then held off Lawrence University for a 64-60 nonconference win on Thursday at Alexander Gymnasium.
Dani Huray led the Sabres (1-0) with a game-high 18 points and 12 rebounds. Alex Deshler also had a double-double for Lawrence (0-1) with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Freshman Katie Schumacher led the Vikings with 17 points and added seven rebounds..
The Sabres trailed by three at the half but went on a 20-4 run to open the second half. Marian hit five 3-pointers in that stretch and led 43-30 with 13:31 remaining.
Marian maintained a double-digit lead until the Vikings rallied late. Lawrence went on a 7-1 run, capped by Deshler’s jumper, to trim Marian’s lead to 58-55 with 2:34 left.
Marian got a layup from Huray, but Schumacher countered with a pair of free throws for the Vikings to cut it to 60-57 with 1:31 remaining. After a pair of Huray free throws, Deshler buried a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 62-60 with 25 seconds left.
Huray made one free throw with 18 seconds remaining, but the Vikings missed a layup on the other end and were forced to foul. Brianna Tietz hit a free throw with seven seconds left to seal the win.
Freshman Patsy Kealey was solid in her Lawrence debut with 11 points, and Amber Lisowe added 10 points for the Vikings.