Women’s Basketball

Category: Women’s Basketball

Lawrence blows out Mount Mary

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s basketball team streaked to a big early lead and rolled to an 80-29 nonconference victory over Mount Mary University on Thursday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Alex Deshler paced four Lawrence players in double figures with 13 points, and she added six rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Kassidy Rinehart and Andrea Wilkinson had 11 points apiece for the Vikings (2-2), and Wilkinson pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Patsy Kealey came off the bench to score 10 points for Lawrence.

Emily Barker paced Mount Mary (0-6) with 13 points, and Ashley Leverenz had a game-high nine rebounds.

Lawrence scored the first five points of the game and never looked back. The Vikings led by double digits at 16-5 on Jeannine Schulz’s layup with 9:27 left in the first half.

Lawrence went on a 19-0 run over a span of 6:47 to expand the lead from 12-5 to 31-5 with 3:43 left in the first half. Deshler scored six points during the outburst and Wilkinson, Schulz and Katie Schumacher had four points apiece.

The Vikings forced 17 Mount Mary turnovers in the first half, and held the Blue Angels to just 13.6 percent shooting (3-for-22) before the break. Mount Mary didn’t get to double figures on the scoreboard until 1:26 was left in the opening half.

Lawrence then scored the first 13 points of the second half to build a 52-11 lead with 16:02 left. The Vikings would lead by as many as 53 points. 

The 80 points is the most Lawrence has scored in a victory since beating Knox College 81-77 on Dec. 13, 2011. The 29 points is the fewest scored by a Lawrence opponent since  the Vikings defeated Grinnell College 66-22 on Feb. 1, 2002.

Lawrence returns to action on Dec. 11 when it travels to Cornell College.

Box score

Second-half surge leads Carroll past Lawrence

APPLETON, Wis. — The Carroll University women’s basketball team opened the second half with a 13-0 run and went on to a 64-42 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Wednesday night at Alexander Gymnasium.

Breann Maryanski paced Carroll (4-1, 2-0 MWC) with 17 points and seven rebounds. Kanae Nishitani led Lawrence (1-2, 0-1) with 11 points and four steals, and Katie Schumacher added nine points and a game-high seven rebounds.

The Pioneers led 29-21 at the half, and Malory Christenson opened the second half by hitting her only 3-point attempt of the game. Carroll hit its first five shots from the floor in the second half, capped by Christenson’s layup, to take a 42-21 lead with 17:14 left.

Nishitani finally stopped the run by hitting her only 3-pointer of game at the 16:54 mark. Carroll would go on to lead by as many as 22 points, and the Vikings never got closer than 17 the rest of the way.

Lawrence was strong for nearly all of the first half, and the Vikings tied the game for the eighth time at 20-20 when Kassidy Rinehart hit a jumper with 4:21 left. Carroll then finished the opening half on an 8-1 run to lead 29-21 at the break.

Lawrence committed a season-worst 27 turnovers and hit on only 11 of 38 shots (28.9 percent) from the floor.

Lawrence returns to action on Thursday when it hosts Mount Mary College in a nonconference game.

Box score

 

Rinehart, Nishitani lead Vikings past Mount Mary

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s basketball team played a strong second half and cruised to a 78-44 nonconference victory over Mount Mary University on Friday at the Bloechl Center.

Kassidy Rinehart had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Lawrence (1-1). Rinehart also had six assists and six steals. Freshman guard Kanae Nishitani had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists, which was just two shy of tying the Lawrence game record.

It also was the first coaching victory for Lawrence coach Ashley Wellman, who is in her rookie season with the Vikings.

Katie Schumacher and Alex Deshler added 13 points apiece for the Vikings.

Taylor Baumgart scored 18 points and Ashley Leverenz added 14 points to pace Mount Mary (0-3).

Lawrence led 12-10 midway through the first half when the Vikings scored seven consecutive points, capped by a Rinehart free throw, to take a 19-10 edge with 7:35 left.

The Vikings would go on to lead 30-23 at the break, but Mount Mary scored the first six points of the second half to cut the lead to 30-29 at the 18:41 mark.

Lawrence led 34-33 when the Vikings went on a 17-6 run to take command. Rinehart scored six points and Andrea Wilkinson had five during the run that gave Lawrence a 51-39 lead with 10:06 left.

The Vikings then went on a 23-2 run to finish the game as Lawrence held the Blue Angels without a field goal over the final 7:48.

Lawrence held Mount Mary to just 25.9 percent shooting (7-27) in the second half while the Vikings shot 50 percent (19-38) from the floor after the break.

Lawrence returns to action on Dec. 4 when it hosts Carroll University in the Midwest Conference opener.

 

Box score

Muchowski, Merkle named to All-MWC soccer squad

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University women’s soccer standouts Keli Muchowski and Casey Merkle have been named to the All-Midwest Conference soccer team.

Muchowski (Neenah, Wis./Neenah), a junior forward, was named to the second team, and Merkle (Barrington, Ill./Barrington), a freshman midfielder, received honorable mention.

Muchowski was named to the second team for the second consecutive season. She led Lawrence in goals and points. Muchowski scored nine goals and picked up one assist for 19 points. She recorded her first career hat trick in Lawrence’s 3-1 victory at Knox College. Lawrence posted a 5-0-1 record in games in which Muchowski scored.

Merkle quickly became the team’s playmaker during her rookie season. She scored three goals and picked up a team-high five assists for 11 points. Merkle scored her first collegiate goal in Lawrence’s 3-2 victory over Nebraska Wesleyan University and had a season-high two assists in the win over Knox.

Lawrence finished the season with a 5-10-1 mark, including a 3-6-1 record in league play.

Eureka hangs on to edge Vikings

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s basketball team missed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, and Eureka College hung on for a 51-48 nonconference victory in the season opener on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Kelsey Shoemake posted a double-double for Eureka (1-0) with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Andrea Wilkinson had her first career double-double for the Vikings (0-1) with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Kanae Nishitani led Lawrence and all scorers with 17 points and also picked up a team-high three steals.

Eureka led by as many as seven points in the first half, but the Vikings rallied early in the second half to tie the game at 25-25. The teams swapped the lead, and Lawrence took its final lead at 41-40 on Katie Schumacher’s layup with 4:54 left.

The Red Devils led by three at 46-43 when Nishitani was whistled for a foul against Caty Eeten. Eeten missed both free throws, but Lawrence was called for another foul boxing out Eeten. Given another chance, she made both free throws to give the Red Devils a 48-43 lead with 56 seconds left.

Nishitani drove to the basket, scored and was fouled. She converted the three-point play to cut the margin to 48-46. After Jenna Brooks converted 1 of 2 free throws, Patsy Kealey hit a driving layup to cut the margin to 49-48 with 28 seconds left.

Brooks was fouled again and converted both free throws with eight seconds left to put the Red Devils up 51-48. The Vikings broke the Eureka press and found an open Alex Deshler in the corner, but her 3-pointer was off the mark at the buzzer.

Lawrence returns to nonconference action on Nov. 22 when it travels to Mount Mary College.

Box score

Inside LU Athletics: Vikings get fresh start with Wellman

The last few seasons have been rough for the Lawrence University women’s basketball team, but the Vikings get a fresh start for the upcoming campaign with a new leader.

Head coach Ashley Wellman took over this past April, and she is focused on the future, just not too far into the future.

“It is a one-game-at-a-time mentality,” said Wellman, who came to Lawrence after being the assistant at Alma College since 2008. “I don’t want our team focusing on a game in the future. We have to take it one game at a time and focus on these little goals in each game. If we do that, we will be surprised at our overall record at the end of the season.”

Wellman and the Vikings open the season on Nov. 16 when they host Eureka College at Alexander Gymnasium. As Lawrence jumped into practice last month, Wellman knew there was rebuilding to be done, and the Vikings have definitely rolled up their sleeves.

“We’ve been hitting it hard,” Wellman said. “We’re playing with a lot more grit and guts. We want them to fight hard for everything.

“I think it’s gone very well. The players have really helped me make the transition easier. They have stepped up in terms of leadership and helped bring the two new freshmen along. My assistants have helped me also. They have helped me get my feet wet. Coach (Megan) Rollo has helped me determine where we are in comparison to last year.”

The Vikings return five of their top six scorers from a season ago, but Lawrence’s improvement will hinge on how well senior guards Amber Lisowe and Alex Deshler play. Lisowe led the team in scoring last season, and Deshler was second in scoring and tops in rebounding.

“We need Amber and Alex to be better on both ends of the floor,” Wellman said. “First, they need to step up a little more in their roles, not necessarily scoring, but in their leadership roles, and we need them to step up defensively.”

Lisowe averaged 13.9 points per game last season and 5.6 rebounds. She hit a team-high 43 3-pointers and led the team at 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

“Amber just constantly works her butt off when she’s on the court,” Wellman said. “On both ends of the court, she will get something done.”

Deshler was at 10.5 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game last season. She tied Lisowe for the team lead at 1.7 steals per game and was second at 2.2 assists per contest.

“Alex really thrives under intensity. Alex is definitely a gamer,” Wellman said.

The Vikings also return a host of sophomores who will all play significant roles. Forwards Katie Schumacher and Patsy Kealey played big roles as freshmen, and Andrea Wilkinson, Jeannine Schulz and Margaret Johnson all saw serious action. Juniors Kassidy Rinehart and Beth Hoster are also back, and Rinehart started 20 games last season.

“One thing we have been harping on in practice is consistency,” Wellman said. “When you have a young team, it’s going to be a bit of rollercoaster.”

The Vikings got an unexpected addition to the team in freshman Kanae Nishitani, who is at Lawrence as part of an exchange program with Waseda University in Japan. Nishitani fills the point guard spot, which was a patchwork last year. The Vikings didn’t have a true point guard last year, and were hurt by too many turnovers with played forced into a difficult role.

“Our point guard spot is going to be better than it was last season, but we are not going to be very deep,” Wellman said. “Kanae has been handling the point guard spot well and she’s been our most surprising player thus far.”

Barthelmess honored

Senior quarterback Luke Barthelmess picked up a pair of honors this week. Barthelmess was named the Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week and then received honorable mention on the USA College Football national team of the week.

Barthelmess was chosen for the honor after rushing for more than 100 yards and throwing for more than 300 in Lawrence’s tough 24-21 loss to Grinnell College this past Saturday. Barthelmess, who recorded his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season, ran 17 times for a season-high 131 yards. He also completed 32 of 50 passes for a season-high 337 yards and three touchdowns. Barthelmess now has 57 career touchdown passes, just three shy of breaking Lawrence’s career record of 59, set by All-American Jim Petran.

It was the sixth 100-yard rushing game of Barthelmess’ career, and he was just one yard shy of tying his career high of 132 rushing yard, which he set in the 2012 season opener against Cornell College.

Seventh heaven

The Lawrence cross country teams ran away with seven All-Midwest Conference runners at last weekend’s MWC Championships.

Sophomore Clare Bruning led the four Lawrence women who made the all-conference team, which is the top-20 finishers at the league championships. Bruning finished sixth, freshman Amy Hutchings was ninth, sophomore Cora Williams was 19th and sophomore Liz Landes was 20th.

On the men’s side, Lawrence had three all-conference runners as Jamie Brisbois, Kyle Dockery and Jonah Laursen finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

The seven all-conference runners is the most for the Vikings under head coach Jason Fast and the most since 2011, when Lawrence had six (five men, one woman).

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Director of Athletic Media Relations Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.

 

Wellman to lead Lawrence women’s basketball program

APPLETON, Wis. — Ashley Wellman has been named the head women’s basketball coach at Lawrence University, Director of Athletics Mike Szkodzinski announced today.

Ashley Wellman

Wellman comes to Lawrence from Alma College in Michigan, where she has served as the assistant women’s basketball coach and recruiting coordinator since August 2008. Wellman, a former star player at Alma, is the 10th coach in Lawrence women’s basketball history.

“We are extremely excited to introduce Ashley Wellman as our next head women’s basketball coach,” Szkodzinski said. “Ashley’s experience in recruiting at Alma College will undoubtedly pay dividends for our program. Her experiences and personality on and off the court make her an excellent fit for our program and department. We look forward to watching the women’s basketball team progress under her leadership.”

Wellman played at Alma for Charlie Goffnett, who won more than 300 games and the 1992 NCAA Division III championship in his 22 seasons with the Scots. A 2008 graduate of Alma with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Wellman served as the interim head coach at Alma in 2009 when Goffnett retired. Wellman also served as the interim head coach from April-October 2012 due to the illness of the head coach.

“I am thrilled to be named the head women’s basketball coach at Lawrence University,” Wellman said. “I am looking forward to working with the returning team members, athletic department, faculty and community members to re-establish Lawrence as one of the top programs in the Midwest Conference.”

Wellman, who will earn her master’s degree in sport administration from Central Michigan University in May, has put Alma back on the path to success in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. In her five seasons coaching at Alma, Wellman helped bring more than 40 student-athletes to the women’s basketball program.

“I am very grateful that I have this opportunity and also the support of Mike Szkodzinski, the athletic department and the administration to move this program forward,” Wellman said. “I am confident that our program has the resources it needs to be successful in the coming years, and my goal is to make sure it does.”

During her playing career with the Scots, Wellman earned All-MIAA accolades three times. A first-team all-conference selection in 2007, Wellman was a second-team pick in 2008 and received honorable mention in 2006. Wellman was a two-year team captain and a two-time team Most Valuable Player. Wellman was named the team’s Most Improved Player as a sophomore in 2006.

Wellman finished in the top 10 in eight different statistical categories at Alma and ended her career with more than 1,100 points and more than 500 rebounds.

A native of Saginaw, Mich., Wellman was a standout player at Nouvel Catholic Central High School. Wellman led Nouvel Catholic Central to a runner-up finish at the Michigan High School Athletic Association Class B state tournament in 2004.

The team captain and MVP of the state runner-up team, Wellman received honorable mention on the Detroit Free Press all-state team in 2004. She also was named first-team all-area by the Saginaw News in 2004. Wellman also helped Nouvel Catholic Central to the state tournament quarterfinals in 2002 and 2003. Wellman also won Nouvel Catholic Central’s Senior Class Female Athletic Leadership Award.

Wellman takes over for Tara Carr, who resigned in February after two seasons and a 3-43 record. Despite struggling in recent seasons, Lawrence has enjoyed a history of success in women’s basketball. The Vikings have won three conference championships and made one NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. The Vikings have posted 23 seasons of .500 or better in 37 campaigns.