Women's Basketball Clinches Share Of 13th NACC Crown

More news about: Wisconsin Lutheran

MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College clinched a share of its 13th Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference regular season title following a 72-36 Senior Day win over Dominican on Saturday at Time of Grace Center. 

The Warriors (18-7, 15-1 NACC), who were led in scoring by junior Jayden Hill's (Kenosha, Wis.) game-high 15 points, extended their winning streak to 13 games entering next week's NACC Tournament.

The Stars took an early 3-2 lead just over a minute gone by, their only lead of the game, before a 7-0 run from WLC gave them a 9-3 advantage with 6:34 remaining in the first quarter. Senior Janiyah Goner (Milwaukee, Wis.) netted five straight points during the run. A pair of threes from senior Mack Hogenson (Neenah, Wis.) sparked another 11-0 Wisconsin Lutheran run, giving them a 22-8 lead with just under two minutes left in the opening quarter. DU netted the final five points of the quarter, resulting in a 22-13 Warriors advantage after one quarter of play.

Following a bucket from each team to start the second quarter, WLC used a 12-2 run, led by six points from senior Kara Troxel (Bonduel, Wis.), to take a 36-17 lead with 2:22 left before the break. Both teams went back-and-forth in the final minute, as Wisconsin Lutheran headed into halftime ahead 38-21. The Warriors shot a game-high 58.3 percent (7-for-12) from the floor in the second period.

WLC scored the first four points of the third quarter, which gave them a 21-point advantage at 42-21 at the 8:45 mark. Wisconsin Lutheran closed out the final 3:43 of the third period with a 10-1 scoring run to lead by 30 points at 57-27 entering the final frame. 

The Warriors maintained at least a 30-point advantage throughout the entire fourth quarter. Senior Haley Ott (Germantown, Wis.) grew the margin to a game-high 38 points on a layup with less than a minute left, as WLC held an opponent under 40 points for the fifth time this season.

Hill paced Wisconsin Lutheran with a game-high 15 points, while snagging six rebounds and dishing out three assists. Freshman Abby Cole (Fond du Lac, Wis.) finished with 10 points and a game-high tying seven rebounds. Troxel and Hogenson also chipped in 10 points apiece. Goner registered eight points and seven rebounds, while senior Lexy Smit (Brandon, Wis.) dished out a career-high five assists. The Warriors, who shot 50 percent (32-for-64) from the floor, outscored Dominican in all facets of the game, including 52-20 in the paint and 23-1 off turnovers.

Melissa Gomez scored a team-high 10 points for the Stars (5-20, 1-15 NACC), who shot 29.4 percent (15-for-51) from the floor.

Second-seeded WLC hosts seventh-seeded Edgewood (14-11, 10-6 NACC) on Tuesday in a NACC Tournament Quarterfinal at 7 p.m. at Time of Grace Center. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com. Wisconsin Lutheran defeated the Eagles, 63-53, in its lone matchup of the season just a week ago.