MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - Senior Kara Troxel (Bonduel, Wis.) tied a career-high with 14 points to lead four players in double figures as Wisconsin Lutheran College cruised to a 77-39 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win over Illinois Tech on Saturday at Time of Grace Center.
The Warriors (6-7, 3-1 NACC), who set season highs for points scored and largest margin of victory, outscored the Scarlet Hawks 21-3 in points off turnovers.
WLC trailed 4-0 less than a minute-and-a-half into the game, but answered with its largest scoring run of the game, 12-0, to grab an eight-point lead. Both teams put together five-point scoring spurts before Wisconsin Lutheran held a 20-15 lead after the first quarter. Senior Mack Hogenson (Neenah, Wis.) scored nine points in the opening period.
The Warriors built their first double-digit lead of the game with 7:47 left in the second quarter after sophomore Margie Stevens' (Oneida, Wis.) layup made the score 27-17. Leading 35-25 with 3:30 remaining, WLC closed out the half on a 9-0 scoring run to carry a 19-point advantage at 44-25 into halftime. Stevens scored 10 of her 12 points alone in the 24-point quarter.
Wisconsin Lutheran held IIT to just five points on a pair of made field goals in the third quarter. A 9-0 run midway through the third extended the Warriors' lead to 29 points at 57-28 with 2:09 left. Senior Janiyah Goner (Milwaukee, Wis.) drilled a three two possessions later to double WLC's advantage to 60-30.
Fourth-quarter triples from freshman Taylor Ignatowski (Germantown, Wis.) and seniors Ainsley Howard (Jefferson, Wis.) and Haley Ott (Germantown, Wis.) increased Wisconsin Lutheran's lead to 36 points at 73-37. Sophomore Lily Otte (York, Neb.), who was one of 13 players to see the court in the final frame, gave the Warriors a game-high 38-point cushion following a layup with 0:11 seconds left.
Troxel led all scorers with 14 points off the bench. Stevens finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks, while Goner and Hogenson chipped in 11 points apiece. Goner added a career-high five steals. Junior Jayden Hill (Kenosha, Wis.) grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds to go along with four points, four assists, and two steals. WLC, which outscored Illinois Tech 44-18 in the paint, 19-3 in fast breaks, and 33-6 off the bench, shot 41.1 percent (30-for-73) for the game.
Berit Rusing posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Scarlet Hawks (5-8, 1-3 NACC), who were held to 28.8 percent (15-for-52) shooting in the game.
Wisconsin Lutheran starts a stretch of three straight conference road games on Wednesday at Alverno (2-11, 0-4 NACC) at 7 p.m. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.