Second half rally falls short, Women’s Basketball drops NAC contest

Box Score: LC 54, CUW 50

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - Concordia University Wisconsin fell behind by as many as 19 points during an ice cold first half on Tuesday night and could never quite make up the huge deficit. The scrambling Falcons eventually put together a second half rally to get within two points before Lakeland College held on for a 54-50 Northern Athletics Conference women's basketball victory inside Woltzen Gymnasium.

CUW increased its defensive pressure in the second half, holding LC to just 24 percent (6-of-25) and forcing 11 turnovers. The Falcons pressure allowed Stacey Brunner Jones' contingent to get within striking distance for the final 6:44 of the contest.

The Muskies sank 5-of-7 free throws during the final minute to stay in the win column. Overall, LC had nine players score and held a 27-6 advantage in bench production.

Sophomore Katie Luethe (Oshkosh, Wis.) recorded her fifth double-double, 12 points and 11 rebounds, of the season. Juniors Tiffany Hendrickson (Ingleside, Ill.) and Brittany Zietlow (Oak Creek, Wis.) added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Zietlow also finished with five rebounds and four assists for CUW (14-8, 13-3 NAC).

Three players led LC (15-6, 10-5 NAC) with eight points apiece, while Jessica Genke hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds. Becca Tillman and Taylor Jandrin combined for eight assists.

CUW opened the second half with a 7-0 run as four different Falcons scored. LC responded to increase its lead back to 13 points twice prior to CUW closing the gap to single digits for the remainder of the game.

The Falcons got within two points on a pair of occasions in the second half (the last time at 52-50 with just five seconds remaining), but never took the lead.

LC began the game with a 9-0 run over the first 4:04 which was capped by a Taylor Jandrin 3-pointer. The Muskies continued their hot shooting by hitting 5-of-7 triples in the opening half.

During the opening half LC held a 19-4 lead in bench production and took a 35-19 halftime lead over CUW. The Falcons hit just 8-of-28 (28.6 percent) from the floor, including 0-of-5 from downtown during the game's first 20 minutes of play.

The Falcons return to the court on Thursday for a highly anticipated rematch with first place Wisconsin Lutheran College at 7 p.m. inside the R. John Buuck Field House.