MILWAUKEE - The Wisconsin Lutheran College women's basketball team used a strong second half to rebound from its first conference loss of the season and defeat cross-town Northern Athletics Conference rival MSOE 64-51 on Saturday afternoon at the Kern Center.
The opening half was tightly contested as the two teams played to four ties and changed leads five times. The host Raiders built a first-half best six-point lead at 18-12 with 9:32 remaining in the first half. WLC answered with a 9-0 run to take a 21-18 advantage with 5:16 on the clock.
The Warriors were on top 24-21, but MSOE scored six straight points to take a 27-24 lead with a little over a minute to play in the first half. A pair of Melanie Laete (Spokane, Wash./Evergreen Lutheran) free throws made the score 27-26 in favor of MSOE at the break.
MSOE shot the ball very well in the first 20 minutes as it connected on 48 percent (12-for-25) of its first-half shots compared to Wisconsin Lutheran's 30 percent (9-for-30). The Warriors narrowly won the rebounding battle, 19-16.
Shavon Dillon (Milwaukee, Wis./Hope School) scored seven points to lead WLC in the opening half, while Katelyn Kuehl (Fond du Lac, Wis./Winnebago Lutheran) and Rachel Hoft (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) each chipped in with six. The Raiders' Bre'Ana Strong scored 10 points off the bench to lead all first-half scorers.
It didn't take long for the sixth and final lead change of the game after halftime as Alyssa Allister (Lake Mills, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran) buried a three-point basket just eight seconds into the second half to put the Warriors in front 29-27.
The three-pointer from Allister started a 13-2 run for Wisconsin Lutheran as it went up 39-29 with just under 15 minutes to play in the contest. Dillon and Kristen Schulz (Safford, Ariz./Arizona Lutheran) each scored four points during the run.
MSOE started chipping away at the lead and twice cut it to three points, including 44-41 with 9:14 remaining after a Strong three-point basket. The Warriors then rattled off 10 straight points, highlighted by two Hoft three-pointers to go up 54-41 with 6:52 on the clock.
The Wisconsin Lutheran lead remained in double-digits the rest of the way, including a game-high 15-point lead at 58-43 as the Warriors cruised to the 13-point victory.
For the game, the Warriors shot 43.1 percent (22-for-51) from the floor, including connecting on 57.1 percent (12-for-21) of their second-half attempts. The Raiders made 40.7 percent (22-for-54) of their shots. WLC also had a big advantage from the charity stripe as they made 10 more free throws (14) than MSOE attempted (4).
Hoft led all scorers as she poured in a season-high 18 points connecting on 4-for-5 from behind the arc. She and Dillon, who added 14 points, were a big reason the WLC bench out-scored the Raiders, 36-21. Rachel Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) also grabbed a game-best nine rebounds.
Strong had 16 points to pace the host Raiders (13-7, 10-4 NAC), while Carol Cayo added 15 points, a game-high eight assists and a team-high eight rebounds.
Wisconsin Lutheran (17-4, 14-1 NAC) returns to action next Thursday when it travels to Mequon, Wis. for a showdown with Concordia Wisconsin (14-7, 13-2 NAC) in a matchup featuring the top two teams in the conference. Tip-off between the Warriors and Falcons is set for 7 p.m. Fans unable to attend the game can follow the action live via audio, stats and video at wlcsports.com.