HANCOCK, Mich. — The Finlandia University women’s basketball team held on for a 79-72 nonconference win over Lawrence University on Thursday at the Nurmi Center.
All five of Finlandia’s starters scored in double figures, and Marissa Burke paced the Lions (3-8) with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Both Andrea Wilkinson and Alex Deshler had a double-double for Lawrence (3-5). Wilkinson had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Deshler had a team-high 13 points to go with 11 rebounds. Patsy Kealey added 11 points for the Vikings, and Katie Schumacher had 10 rebounds to go with nine points.
Finlandia built a double-digit lead in the first half thanks to its 3-point shooting. The Lions went 8-for-17 from beyond the arc in the first half and finished the game at 14-for-37.
Finlandia, which led by as many as 14 points in the first half, had to hold off several runs by the Vikings after the break. Lawrence went on a 7-0 run, capped by Kealey’s three-point play, to cut an 11-point lead to 46-42 with 14:58 left.
Lawrence got as close as three points before the Lions pushed the lead back to 68-58 with 6:22 left. The Vikings responded with a 12-5 run, with Wilkinson scoring six points and Deshler adding four, to cut the lead to 73-70 with 2:15 left.
The Lions then got a key 3-pointer from Paige Yoho that increased the lead to 77-70 with 1:28 left. Lawrence didn’t get closer than five points after that.
The Vikings do not return to action until after the holidays, and will face Finlandia again on Jan. 2.