MILWAUKEE – The Wisconsin Lutheran College women's basketball team erased a seven-point deficit early in the second half to defeat fourth-seeded Benedictine University 78-70 in a NAC Semifinal game Thursday night at the Recreation Complex.
The Warriors (24-3, 16-2 NAC) move on to host third-seeded Concordia University Wisconsin (19-8, 15-3 NAC) on Saturday at 2 p.m. for the NAC Tournament Championship. The winner receives the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. This marks the third tournament championship appearance for WLC in the last four seasons. CUW advanced by knocking off second-seeded Dominican University, 81-64.
Benedictine and Wisconsin Lutheran battled closely throughout much of the first half by exchanging leads four times and tying the contest twice. BU led by as many as five points at the 14:56 mark, but WLC mounted a lead of eight points, 37-29, with 3:10 left before halftime. The Warriors held a slim 39-36 lead at intermission.
Wisconsin Lutheran shot 50 percent (16-for-32) in the first half and was led by Erika Laete's (Spokane, Wash./Evergreen Lutheran) and Rachel Hoft's (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) 13 and 11 points, respectively. Tracey Walsh paced Benedictine with 10 points in the period. BU held a 17-5 advantage in points off turnovers, committing just five to the Warriors' 11 turnovers in the period.
The Eagles opened the second half on a 12-2 run to take their largest lead of the game of seven points with 15:50 remaining. WLC battled back and after six second-half lead changes, took a 58-57 lead on a pair of Krissy Day (West Allis, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) free throws with 8:04 on the clock. The Warriors extended their leading margin to a game-high 10 points, 71-61, with 3:28 remaining. BU got within four points late, but WLC was able to hold on for its 13th-straight victory.
The Warriors shot 45.5 percent (10-for-22) in the second half, while the Eagles fired on 41.2 percent (14-for-34) of their shots. Rachel Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) and Laete led the way in the second half with 10 points each. WLC turned the ball over just four times in the period after committing 11 first-half turnovers.
Laete recorded her third straight double-double with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season. Johnson finished with 14 points, while Hoft and Brittanny Bahr (Caledonia, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) added 11 and 10, respectively, off the bench. The Warriors, who out-rebounded the Eagles 40-32, shot 48.1 percent (26-for-54) for the game. WLC connected on eight three-pointers and 18 of 25 attempts from the charity stripe.
Walsh led four from Benedictine (16-10, 11-6 NAC) in double figures with 14 points. Jillian Lipman scored 12 points and Jenn Bren and Lidia Arias each chipped in with 10. BU shot 42.4 percent (28-for-66) from the floor for the game and owned a 25-11 advantage in points off turnovers.