Women’s Basketball

Category: Women’s Basketball

Cold-shooting Vikings fall to Lady Blues

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — The Lawrence University women’s basketball team endured a frigid shooting night and dropped a 77-40 decision to Illinois College in a Midwest Conference game on Friday night.

The Vikings went 14-for-63 (22.2 percent) from the floor, including 0-for-15 from beyond the 3-point line.

Freshman guard Chioma Ejimkonye led the Vikings (0-3, 0-1 MWC) with 14 points and six steals.

Brittney Burgess came off the bench to lead Illinois College (1-3, 1-0) with 18 points. Haylee Althoff added 15 points off the bench.

The Lady Blues built a double-digit lead in the first 10 minutes of the game, but really pulled away in the final few minutes of the opening half. The Lady Blues outscored Lawrence 19-7 over the final 6:09 to grab a 44-19 lead at the break.

Illinois College would lead by as many as 39 points in the second half.

Lawrence returns to action on Saturday when it plays at Lake Forest College.

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Hot start helps Marian past Lawrence

FOND DU LAC, Wis. — One night after playing a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe right down to the wire, the Lawrence University women’s basketball team had a tough time bouncing back for a second game in as many days.

Marian University jumped out to a big early lead and went on to a 73-49 nonconference victory over the Vikings at Sadoff Gymnasium.

Sarah Albert scored 22 points to lead Marian (1-0) and all scorers. Amber Lisowe poured in 20 points and grabbed five rebounds for Lawrence (0-2).

Marian scored the first 12 points of the contest, and Lawrence didn’t get on the board until Alex Deshler hit a jumper with 13:37 left in the first half.

Marian built its lead to 19-5 with 9:00 left in the opening half before Lawrence came charging back. The Vikings went on an 11-2 run, with seven of those points coming from Lisowe, to trim the margin to 21-16 with 3:45 left in the first half.

Marian finally recovered and scored 17 points in the final 3:20 of the first half to grab a 38-20 lead at the break.

Lawrence never got closer than that in the second half, and the Sabres would lead by as many as 32 points.

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Titans pull away late to down Lawrence

The UW-Oshkosh women’s basketball team used a late run to pull away and post a 65-56 nonconference victory over Lawrence University on Tuesday night at Alexander Gymnasium.

Katie Kitzke scored a game-high 18 points to pace UW-Oshkosh (1-0), and Megan Wenig added 16 points.

Amber Lisowe scored 17 points in her collegiate debut for Lawrence (0-1). Alex Deshler picked up a double-double for the Vikings with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Cathy Kaye and Presley Neuman added eight points apiece for the Vikings.

Lawrence trailed 47-37 midway through the second half, but the Vikings got a 3-pointer from Kaye and a jumper by Deshler to trim the lead to 47-42 with 7:28 left. The teams traded baskets before Oshkosh went on a 9-0 run to build a 58-44 lead with 3:42 remaining. Wenig scored five points in that decisive run for the Titans.

Lawrence got no closer than eight points after that.

Lawrence, playing its first game under head coach Tara Carr, started strong by scoring the first six points of the game. The Titans recovered to lead 7-6, but Lawrence Neuman scored four consecutive points and Deshler added a jumper to give Lawrence a 15-9 lead with 10:05 left in the opening half.

Oshkosh came back and took the lead for good at 18-17 with 6:15 left in the first half. The Titans led 29-26 at the half.

The Titans shot 51 percent for the game, but Oshkosh was 16-for-24 (66.7 percent) from the floor in the second half. Lawrence shot only 34.3 percent from the floor but did post a 40-35 edge on the glass.

Lawrence returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Marian University.

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Inside LU Athletics: Young Vikings look for fresh start

It’s a clean slate for the Lawrence University women’s basketball team.

With a new head coach, only three players returning from a season ago and eight newcomers, any memories of the difficult 2010-11 season are fading fast in the rear view mirror.

“We can’t think about what’s happened in the past,” first-year coach Tara Carr said. “You learn from the past and you grow from it but it’s over.

“Because we do have so many new faces we’ve been able to move forward. It’s a new beginning for everyone.”

With a fresh approach, an experienced backcourt and a sizeable group of newcomers, the Vikings are ready to attack the upcoming season, which opens Tuesday when Lawrence hosts UW-Oshkosh.

“I’ve been extremely impressed with how hard they’re working, their attitude and their commitment to the team and ability to bond in such a small time frame,” Carr said.

“These young women have bonded at such an amazing level in such a short period of time. That is exactly what I wanted to create, and I’m amazed at how well we’ve come together.”

Junior Cathy Kaye is the only upperclassman on the squad. She was second on the team in scoring a season ago at 8.4 points per game and was tops in 3-point shooting at 43.5 percent.

Also back are sophomore guards Alex Deshler and Jessica Robbins. Deshler averaged 7.7 points per game and is the top returning rebounder at 6.3 per contest. Robbins played in every game and averaged a modest 1.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.

“We have a lot of depth at the guard position,” Carr said. “A lot of talent, whether it’s driving in the lane or shooting 3s. They’re very versatile.”

New to the mix in the backcourt is sophomore Amber Lisowe, who missed all of last season due to a knee injury, but was named a team captain. She is joined by freshman Chioma Ejimkonye and junior Becca Anderson, who also missed the start of her career due to a knee injury.

The Vikings will be young up front, but the Vikings bring some size and athleticism in freshmen Kassidy Rinehart and Presley Neuman. The Vikings also have more depth and size with freshmen Aubrey Lawlor and Bethany Hoster and junior Gaelen Lombard-Knapp, a softball standout playing her first season of basketball.

The Vikings are finally getting the entire team together after waiting for all the fall sport athletes to join the squad. Neuman played volleyball for the Vikings, and both Rinehart and Kaye ran cross country.

Carr has seen the team make some serious progress during the preseason workouts, but she knows there is work to be done.

“We spent a lot of time shooting the ball. We can’t be last in the conference in shooting. We spent a lot of time working individual skill development and taking care of the ball,” Carr said.

“What I’ve been extremely impressed with as a team is that every time I set expectations in practice, they have met or exceeded it every time. That’s truly amazing because not every team can do that. It says a lot about their talent level, their work ethic and their commitment.”

 

Strasser joins Lawrence women’s basketball staff

Morgan Strasser has joined the Lawrence University women’s basketball coaching staff, Director of Athletics Mike Szkodzinski announced today.

Strasser, a former standout player at Midwest Conference rival St. Norbert College, joins the staff of first-year head coach Tara Carr.

“Morgan is a tremendous addition to the Lawrence University women’s basketball program,” Carr said. “Her experience in the Midwest Conference and her talent as an all-conference performer will provide valuable basketball insight for our players. Morgan brings great attributes to the team, and we are fortunate that she will be able to begin her responsibilities immediately with recruiting and preparing for the upcoming season.”

A 2009 graduate of St. Norbert, Strasser was a three-time All-Midwest Conference selection. She earned first-team honors for both the 2007-08 season and the 2008-09 season and was a second-team pick in 2006-07. Strasser, who was St. Norbert’s Most Valuable Player for 2008-09, led the Green Knights to the 2008 Midwest Conference championship.

A native of Oshkosh, Wis., Strasser was a star player at Oshkosh West High School and led the Wildcats to the 2005 WIAA Division I State Tournament.

Strasser, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from St. Norbert, works as an inside sales representative at Eggers Industries in Neenah, Wis.

Lawrence opens its season Nov. 15 when it hosts UW-Oshkosh.

Carr to lead Lawrence women’s basketball program

Tara Carr

Tara Carr is the new head women’s basketball coach at Lawrence University.

Carr’s hiring was announced today by Director of Athletics Mike Szkodzinski.

“We are excited to announce the appointment of Tara Carr as the head women’s basketball coach at Lawrence University,” Szkodzinski said. “We believe Tara will be able to draw upon her past collegiate playing and coaching experience to lead our ladies. Her professionalism and attention to detail will certainly allow her to take our program to the next level.”

Carr becomes the ninth coach of the Vikings, whose first season of competition was 1975-76.

“I’m truly excited to be named the new head women’s basketball coach at Lawrence University,” said Carr, a native of Hoosick Falls, N.Y. “I feel honored to be a part of the Lawrence athletic department. I look forward to working with the department’s administration, Mike Szkodzinski and Kim Tatro, along with support from Provost David Burrows.”

Carr brings a history of playing and coaching experience to the job at Lawrence.

A three-sport standout in basketball, softball and field hockey at Hoosick Falls Central High School, Carr earned all-conference honors in both basketball and field hockey and her softball squad won a New York state championship. Carr starred at the State University of New York College at Oneonta in both field hockey and basketball and was a basketball standout at the University at Albany.

Carr, who holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bowling Green State University, started her basketball coaching career at Ohio Northern University. She then served as the assistant basketball coach at Saginaw Valley State University. She coached with the Cardinals from 2001-04 and helped turn that program around.

Carr, who has a masters of business administration from Saginaw Valley State, comes to Lawrence after working outside of coaching in recent years. She has served as the campus director and adjunct instructor in business management and human resource management at the Beloit campus of Concordia University of Wisconsin since April 2007.

“My goal is to be a part of the Lawrence family for a long time,” said Carr, who relishes the opportunity to guide Lawrence’s student-athletes. “I look forward to working with the returning players. Lawrence provides student-athletes with an excellent education in a competitive environment. The impressive academic reputation, globally diverse student body and Appleton community complete the Lawrence experience.”

Lawrence has enjoyed a history of success, including three conference championships and a NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, in its 35 seasons of women’s basketball. The Vikings have posted 23 seasons of .500 or better, but Lawrence has struggled in recent campaigns.

“It is a personal goal of mine and a goal of our department to revitalize Lawrence women’s basketball,” Szkodzinski said. “There has been tremendous success in the not-so-distant past, and we will continue to work to regain our status as an elite program within the Midwest Conference.”

Lawrence returns nine players from this past season’s team and opens nonconference play in November.

Winter season athletes honored for academic achievement

Thirty-four Lawrence University winter season student-athletes have been named to the Academic All-Midwest Conference team.

To be eligible for the team, a student must be at least a sophomore and have a minimum 3.2 grade point average.

The women’s swimming team led the way among Lawrence student-athletes with 12 selections.

Men’s basketball

Scott Beauchamp, sophomore, St. Paul, Minn., undecided

Erik Borresen, senior, West Bend, Wis., government

Conor Klusendorf, sophomore, Chicago, Ill., psychology

Men’s swimming

Peter Brengel, junior, Milwaukee, Wis., government

David Dulak, junior, Red Wing, Minn., biochemistry/Spanish

Cory Greguske, senior, Germantown, Wis., biology

Nick Johnson, senior, Rockford, Ill., biology/Spanish

Marc Pawlus, junior, Bartlett, Ill., government/economics

Caleb Stellmach, sophomore, St. Cloud, Minn., philosophy

Women’s swimming

Sarah Bostrom, senior, Bloomington, Minn., biochemistry/psychology

Jenna Budde, junior, Roscoe, Ill., psychology

Aisha Eiger, junior, Montclair, N.J., anthropology

Yagmur Esemen, sophomore, Taskinkoy, Nicosia, Cyprus, biology

Kelsey Gray, senior, West Lafayette, Ind., physics

Julia Heller, sophomore, Daly City, Calif., English/studio art

Molly Ingram, junior, Topeka, Kan., economics/anthropology

Skylar Kogelschatz, senior, Mount Pleasant, S.C., government

Katie Nelson, junior, Vienna, Va., art

Sarah Robinson, senior, Luxemburg, Wis., music

Sam Schilsky, sophomore, Pleasantville, N.Y., biology

Alicia Tape, sophomore, St. Louis, Mo., music performance

Men’s indoor track

Cam Blegen, junior, Whitefish Bay, Wis., biology

Tom Coben, junior, St. Paul, Minn., environmental science

Stan Jablonski, junior, River Hills, Wis., biology

Dan Moeller, senior, Decorah, Iowa, government

Jesse Peterson, senior, Monroe, Wis., psychology

Sam Stevens, sophomore, Suamico, Wis., biology

David Zane, senior, San Rafael, Calif., anthropology

Women’s indoor track

Amanda Dwyer, sophomore, Ralston, Neb., environmental science/biology

Kristina Reimer, junior, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, biology

Anne Sullivan, senior, Whitefish Bay, Wis., psychology

Rose Tepper, sophomore, Mount Vernon, Iowa, psychology

Rachel Young, junior, Minneapolis, Minn., Spanish/Chinese

Lin Zhao, junior, Tianjin, China, biology

St. Norbert runs away from Vikings in season finale

DE PERE, Wis. – The St. Norbert College women’s basketball team jumped out to a huge early lead and went on to a 94-43 Midwest Conference win Saturday over Lawrence University at Schuldes Sports Center in the regular-season finale.

St. Norbert scored the game’s first 24 points and led 46-16 at the half.

Jamie Kuhl paced St. Norbert (21-2, 17-1 MWC) with 19 points and was one of four Green Knights to score in double figures. Krista Pelky added 15 points and Rachel Hermus and Erin Baganz had 10 points apiece.

Cathy Kaye paced Lawrence (0-23, 0-18) with 11 points. Katie Van Es added 10 points for the Vikings.

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