Women’s Basketball

Category: Women’s Basketball

Vikings edged by Ripon

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s basketball team scored just one point over the final 11 minutes and endured a horrendous afternoon at the foul line in a 41-40 Midwest Conference loss to Ripon College at Alexander Gymnasium.

Ripon (1-2, 1-0 MWC) got two free throws from Meg Ryan with 30 seconds left to take the lead, and freshman guard Lauren Deveikis missed a jumper with five seconds left that would have won it for Lawrence (0-3, 0-1).

Both teams had a rough time at the foul line as Lawrence connected on only 9-of-22 from the stripe and Ripon hit just 9-of-21.

Freshman Danelle Buck led Lawrence with 11 points and she picked up seven rebounds. Freshman forward Elizabeth Arco pulled down 10 rebounds and added eight points for the Vikings. Andrea Wilkinson chipped in with nine points for the Vikings.

Ryan, McKenzie Banasik and Nicole Herkert scored 10 points apiece to pace Ripon, and Herkert had a game-high 13 rebounds.

Lawrence led throughout most of the contest as the Vikings took their first lead at 7-5 on Arco’s three-point play with 13:15 left in the first half. Lawrence would build that advantage to as much as nine points before the Red Hawks trimmed the lead to 28-22 at the half.

The Vikings grabbed their biggest lead of the game by going on a 6-0 run, capped by Natalie Kramer’s layup and an Arco free throw with 11:07 left, for a 39-27 edge.

Ripon began chipping away at the advantage as the Vikings went ice cold from the floor and the foul line. Lawrence finished the game by going 0-for-11 from the floor and 1-for-5 from the line.

Lawrence’s only points in that stretch came on Kassidy Rinehart’s free throw with 4:51 remaining that gave the Vikings a 40-35 lead. Ripon got a layup from Chelsea Moldenhauer and a couple of free throws from Banasik to cut the lead to 40-39.

The Vikings then committed three consecutive turnovers before fouling Ryan. She hit both free throws to give Ripon the lead for good.

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Sabres top Lawrence 61-38

APPLETON, Wis. — The Marian University women’s basketball team built a big first-half lead and went on to a 61-38 nonconference victory over Lawrence University on Wednesday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Amelia Mirsberger led Marian (1-0) and all scorers with 18 points as she hit 6-of-8 shots from the floor and went 4-for-4 from the foul line. Sarah Olewinski added 12 points for the Sabres.

Elizabeth Arco paced the Vikings (0-2) with nine points and six rebounds, and Jeannine Schulz added eight points.

Marian trailed early but went on an 18-2 run in the first half to pull out to a 20-7 lead with 9:14 left in the first half. Mirsberger scored nine points in the first half as the Sabres built a 32-16 advantage at the break.

The Vikings chipped away at the lead over the first nine minutes of the second half. Lawrence outscored the Sabres 13-8 to open the half, capped by Arco’s layup, to trim the lead to 40-29. Arco scored four points in that run and Schulz had three.

Marian responded by going on a 16-4 run to grab a 56-33 lead and seal the victory.

Lawrence returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Ripon College in the Midwest Conference opener for both teams.

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Lawrence falls to Cougars in season opener

RIVER FOREST, Ill. — The Concordia University Chicago women’s basketball team got off to a fast start and rolled to a 95-57 nonconference victory over Lawrence University on Saturday at Geiseman Gymnasium.

Lauren Orr scored a game-high 20 points off the bench to pace the Cougars (1-0) and was one of four players in double figures. Miranda Rogers added 16 points for Concordia.

Kassidy Rinehart paced Lawrence (0-1) with 15 points and hit 6-of-7 shots from the floor. Jeannine Schulz added 11 points off the bench for the Vikings. Fanita Robins added nine points and a game-high seven rebounds for the Vikings.

The Cougars jumped out to a 16-4 lead in the first seven minutes and pulled away from there. Concordia pushed the lead to 44-16 at the half.

Lawrence played a much stronger second half by hitting 16-of-28 shots from the floor (57.1 percent) on the way to 41 points after the break.

Concordia shot 47.4 percent from the floor during the game and connected on 15-of-33 attempts from 3-point range.

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Inside LU Athletics: Deeper, more talented Vikings strive to move forward

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University women’s basketball coach Ashley Wellman is happy to give up some elbow room on the bench.

With an influx of seven newcomers to go with seven returning players, the Vikings bring a deeper and more talented team into the 2014-15 season. The 14 players makes this the largest squad Lawrence brings into a season since Amy Proctor’s final year as head coach back in 2006-07.

Lawrence opens its season at Concordia Chicago on Nov. 15 with cautious optimism that it can take a step forward.

“I feel very good about the direction we’re headed,” said second-year head coach Ashley Wellman. “It’s exciting to be in an atmosphere where we have competition at every spot. I could play every person on the bench and feel good about them going into the game.”

Lawrence lost its top player, guard Alex Deshler, to graduation, but the Vikings should have more options on offense and a stronger hold on the point guard position. Deshler led the team in scoring at 11 points per game, and it was point guard by committee for most of last season and that led to a minus-6.1 in turnover margin.

“We have a lot more depth this year so that is pretty exciting,” Wellman said. “Our returning class is expected to step up  in terms of scoring and leadership.”

The Vikings bring back returning starters in senior guard Kassidy Rinehart and junior forward Andrea Wilkinson. Wilkinson averaged 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds last season, and Rinehart averaged 6.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

Two others starters from last season, guard Patsy Kealey and forward Katie Schumacher also will be back. Kealey is nearing a return after being sidelined by a knee injury last season, and Schumacher is studying abroad during the first term.

“Andrea and Kassidy will be expected to lead the team on the floor,” Wellman said. “It’s been really good this year because of the talent and the competitiveness that we have in practice. It’s pushing our upperclassmen to be better than they were last year. We’ve seen tremendous improvement.”

The newcomers giving the Vikings that depth and daily competition in practice come from near and far. Forward Danelle Buck is from just down the road in Valders, and Nicole Cummins joins the Vikings from San Antonio, Texas.

This group also brings some serious versatility with everything from point guards to post players. The five new guards range from quick points guards to shooters, and Buck (5-foot-11) and Elizabeth Arco (6-1) bring more size and athleticism to the front line.

“We are a lot more athletic and versatile so that will be nice. We also have more speed so we will look to push the ball more than we did last year,” Wellman said.

“We are expecting some big things from multiple freshmen, but it is still sorting itself out as to who is going to rise above the rest.”

After winning just three games last season, including one in the Midwest Conference, the Vikings are not setting any crazy expectations for the upcoming campaign.

“We would like to not finish dead last in the conference,” Wellman said. “For right now, we are focused on one game at time. If we do that, we will be surprised at the outcome at the end of the season.”

Lawrence student-athletes honored on academic all-conference team

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University had 165 student-athletes earn Academic All-Midwest Conference honors for 2013-14.

To be eligible for selection, a student-athlete must have a minimum grade point average of 3.3 during the academic year.

The women’s swimming and diving team led Lawrence with 16 student-athletes honored. Lawrence had five other teams that had double-digit selections — women’s outdoor track and field, women’s cross country, women’s indoor track and field, women’s soccer and men’s soccer.

The women’s outdoor track and field team was next with 15 student-athletes honored. Women’s cross country had 13 of its 16 team members chosen, and women’s indoor track and field had 13 selections. Women’s soccer had 10 selections, and women’s tennis saw nine of its 11 student-athletes chosen.

Lawrence’s top men’s team was soccer, which had 10 selections. Men’s golf had seven of its 11 student-athletes chosen.

Lawrence had 64 student-athletes chosen from the fall season, 57 from the winter season and 44 from the spring season.

Complete list

Grinnell pulls away late to top Vikings

GRINNELL, Iowa — The Grinnell College women’s basketball team pulled away over the final nine minutes Saturday and went on to a 66-50 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University at Darby Gymnasium.

Anne Boldt paced Grinnell (3-20, 2-16 MWC) with 21 points and nine rebounds.

Alex Deshler, playing in her final game for Lawrence (3-20, 1-17), scored a team-high 14 points for the Vikings. Deshler became just the ninth player in Lawrence history to score 900 points and finished her career with 909.

Kassidy Rinehart added 10 points and a team-best eight rebounds for the Vikings, and Andrea Wilkinson chipped with 10 points and six boards.

Lawrence led 18-17 on Katie Schumacher’s jumper with 4:54 left in the opening half, but Grinnell closed the first half on a 14-5 run and led 31-23 at the break.

Grinnell led by 13 early in the second half, but Lawrence countered with an 8-1 run to trim the margin to 39-33 with 10:17 remaining. Rinehart scored five points in that stretch and capped the run with a three-point play.

Grinnell then scored the game’s next eight points to push the lead to 47-33 with 7:04 remaining. Lawrence never got closer than 12 points after that.

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Turnovers plague Vikings in loss to Lake Forest

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lake Forest College women’s basketball team used a pressure defense to force 36 turnovers and went on to a 62-44 Midwest Conference win over Lawrence University on Wednesday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Sam Schuring led Lake Forest (7-15, 7-10 MWC) with 14 points and a game-high seven assists. Jenna Rice came off the bench to add 10 points for the Foresters.

Alex Deshler, playing in her final home game, led all scorers with 15 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for Lawrence (3-19, 1-16). Courtney Schmidt came off bench to add eight points for the Vikings.

Lake Forest’s defense helped force 26 Lawrence turnovers in the first half as the Foresters built a 26-15 lead at the break.

The Foresters, who turned the ball over 24 times, went on a 12-1 run to open the second half for a 38-16 advantage with 14:56 left. Lawrence never got closer than 18 points after that.

The Vikings wrap up their season on Saturday when they travel to Grinnell College.

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