by MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College overcame a six-point halftime deficit by shooting 58.6 percent in the second half on the way to a 65-56 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference victory over Aurora on Wednesday at Time of Grace Center.
The Warriors (11-4, 6-1 NACC), who won their sixth straight game overall and 13th in the all-time series against the Spartans (12-5, 5-3 NACC), had a different leading scorer for the fourth consecutive game.
WLC jumped out to an 8-2 lead over AU more than midway through the first quarter following a three from junior Lexy Smit (Brandon, Wis.). Three minutes later, Smit pushed the margin to a first half-high nine points after her jumper made it 14-5 with 1:52 remaining. Wisconsin Lutheran held a 14-8 lead through the opening 10 minutes of action.
A three-point play from freshman Margie Stevens (Oneida, Wis.) to open the second quarter kept the Warriors’ lead at nine. Aurora, which shot 58.3 percent and scored 23 points in the second stanza, closed out the first half on a 15-4 run over the final 6:10 to lead 31-25 at the break, the Spartans’ largest lead of the game.
Wisconsin Lutheran began the third quarter on an 11-4 scoring run to grab a 36-35 lead at the 6:47 mark after a Stevens layup. Following five lead changes, the Warriors used a 7-2 spurt over the final five minutes of the third period to hold onto a four-point lead at 45-41 entering the fourth quarter.
WLC clung to a 53-50 lead with 4:17 left in the game, but used the game’s biggest run of 8-0 to build a game-high 13-point lead at 65-52 with under a minute to play after a three-point play from senior Sam Leisemann (Fall River, Wis.). Wisconsin Lutheran shot a game-high 61.5 percent (8-for-13) in the fourth quarter to cap off its second consecutive 20-point period.
Stevens scored a team-high 20 points on 7-for-8 shooting to lead three players in double figures. Leisemann posted her eighth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Kara Troxel (Bonduel, Wis.) netted a season-high 12 points. Senior Meggie Scott (Yorkville, Ill.) distributed a game-high six assists. The Warriors, who shot 45.6 percent (26-for-57) for the game, assisted on 19 of 26 made field goals and committed fewer than 10 turnovers for the sixth time this season.
