MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – The Wisconsin Lutheran College women's basketball team bounced back from its loss Wednesday by defeating Barry 64-60 in a non-conference matchup Thursday at the Health & Sports Center.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair as neither team could gain much of an advantage in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Warriors had the largest lead of the half, five points at 14-9, while the Buccaneers (6-4) led by four with just over three minutes remaining in the half. Wisconsin Lutheran cut that lead down to one as it trailed 31-30 going into the locker room at halftime.
Barry built its lead to six points with 12 minutes to play in the game as the hosts led 49-43 after a lay-up by Danielle DeBerry. The Warriors scored the next seven points, with four coming from Shavon Dillon (Milwaukee, Wis./Hope School) and a three-pointer from Rachel Hoft (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) for a 50-49 Warriors lead with 9:27 left in the contest.
The Buccaneers scored the next four points to go up 53-50, but WLC again answered with a 7-0 run highlighted by five points from Rachel Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) to gain a 57-53 advantage with just under six minutes on the clock.
Barry again cut its deficit to one at 58-57 but a Johnson jumper put the Warriors back up three. BU again pulled within one on its next possession, but Katelyn Kuehl (Fond du Lac, Wis./Winnebago Lutheran) put away any hope of a comeback as she buried a three-pointer to put the forest green and white back up by four points.
Three pointers were a big part of the WLC victory as it shot 50 percent (7-for-14) from beyond the arc with Kuehl and Johnson each making a pair of triples. Barry shot just 16.7 percent (3-for-18) from distance in the loss.
Dillon led the Warriors with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting while Johnson scored all 16 of her points in the second half to help lead WLC to the win. Kuehl pulled down a team-high eight rebounds as Wisconsin Lutheran out-rebounded BU, 42-35. Yvonne Houston had 15 points to pace Barry, while Alexandria Zamora grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for the home team.
Wisconsin Lutheran (7-3, 4-0 NAC) returns to the court Saturday, January 7 when it heads to Lisle, Ill. to face Benedictine (2-9, 1-4 NAC) in a conference matchup. Tip-off against the Eagles is set for 2 p.m. at the Dan and Ada Rice Center.