GRINNELL, Iowa — The Lawrence University women’s basketball team got off to a frigid start on Saturday, and that allowed Grinnell College to pull away to a 74-51 Midwest Conference victory at Darby Gymnasium.
Lawrence went 1-for-18 from the floor in the opening quarter as the Pioneers build a 16-3 lead after the first 10 minutes. The Vikings warmed up a bit in the second period, but Grinnell (9-8, 7-5 MWC) stretched the lead to 39-17 at the half.
The Vikings shot just 14.3 percent from the floor in the first half.
Olivia Hoesley just missed a double-double for the Vikings (2-15, 0-12) as she scored a career-high 20 points to go with nine rebounds. Aubrey Scott added 16 points and eight rebounds for Lawrence, and Natalie Kramer chipped in 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Kayla Morrissey went 7-for-11 from the floor on her way to 17 points for Grinnell.
The Vikings trailed by as many as 32 points early in the third quarter as Grinnell opened the second half on a 10-0 run. Lawrence managed to trim the lead to 20 with seven minutes remaining in the game but could pull no closer.