by MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) – Senior Sam Leisemann (Fall River, Wis.) scored a game-high 22 points and Wisconsin Lutheran College won its seventh straight game on Saturday by defeating Benedictine 68-48 in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game at the Time of Grace Center.
The Warriors (12-4, 7-1 NACC), who led for nearly 38 minutes in the contest, scored 50 of their 68 points in the paint en route to their fourth straight win over the Eagles (5-12, 5-3 NACC) in the all-time series.
WLC jumped out of the gate with a 7-2 lead in the first two minutes, sparked by a layup from junior Ainsley Howard (Jefferson, Wis.). Wisconsin Lutheran continued to build on its lead and behind freshman Margie Stevens’ (Oneida, WI) six first quarter points, the Warriors led 21-10 after one period of play.
WLC opened the second quarter on a 10-4 run, led by eight points from Leisemann to extend its lead to 31-14 with four minutes left in the quarter. Sophomore Jayden Hill (Kenosha, Wis.) scored the lone Warriors basket in the final four minutes of the half and Wisconsin Lutheran held a 19-point advantage, 33-14, at halftime.
The third quarter began with both teams trading baskets and BenU cut the lead down to 14 points with 5:36 left in the quarter. Leisemann scored the final six points for WLC in the last two minutes and the lead grew back to 17 before Benedictine made a last second shot and the Warriors led 48-33 heading into the final frame.
Leisemann sparked Wisconsin Lutheran on an 8-2 run in the opening minutes of the fourth to build a 56-35 lead. Stevens’ three-point play with 4:06 left gave the Warriors a 24-point lead, their largest of the game. Both teams traded baskets down the stretch and a three from Howard in the final minute gave WLC the 68-48 victory over the Eagles.
Leisemann led the way for the Warriors with a game-high 22 points, six rebounds, and three assists. She was a perfect 10-for-10 from the floor. Stevens added 19 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Wisconsin Lutheran shot an even 50 percent (28-for-56) from the floor and 76.9 percent (10-for-13) from the free throw line.
Sierra Skack scored a team-high eight points for BenU, which shot 32.7 percent (18-for-55) for the game
