by By Ted Schultz, Grinnell Athletics
GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College has all but owned its women’s basketball rivalry with Lawrence University over the last decade-plus, particularly on the home court.
The Pioneers entered Saturday’s meeting in Darby Gymnasium having won 19 of their last 20 against the Vikings, including 11 in a row at home dating back to 2006.
Grinnell fought and clawed its way throughout the game, holding off multiple Lawrence charges to continue the dominance with an 80-77 victory. The win stretched the Pioneers’ winning streak to three, their longest in two seasons, while improving to 2-2 in the Midwest Conference and 6-5 overall. Lawrence fell to 1-3 in the MWC and 4-7 in all games.
Tyria Heath (Menominee/Mohican) continued her explosive season with 28 points for the Pioneers, while Kathryn Stender ’21 registered a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Ellie Gubbrud ’22 had 10 points and Annie Filkins ’23 drained a trio of big 3-pointers for a career-high nine points. Sofia Ahooja ’22 dished out seven assists for the Pioneers and Gubbrud blocked two shots.
Heath now ranks 16th in program history with 801 career points and is 15th in free throws made with 171. As a team, Grinnell made a season-high nine 3-pointers.
The first period was back and forth, with Lawrence leading 20-18 at its conclusion. Grinnell opened the second period with a six-point run as Emmy Nyquist ’23 sank a jumper and Kate Tomczik ’22 added a layup and two free throws.
It was later a one-point Pioneer lead before they got some breathing room thanks to the sharp-shooting eye of Filkins, who made consecutive 3-pointers on three attempts to make it a 40-32 lead. Grinnell went into the locker room ahead 42-36.
Grinnell remained in command in the third period, leading 61-57 at its conclusion. The fourth quarter is where the Pioneers particularly showed their grit, withstanding a trio of charges where the Vikings cut leads to a point or tied it.
The first of those was at the 5:13 mark when the Vikings cut the gap from four to one, only to see Heath convert a traditional three-point play. After the Vikings made it a 75-74 game with 1:26 left, Heath calmly sank a jumper to extend the gap to three.
A Lawrence 3-pointer tied the contest at 77-all with 54 seconds left. Heath then made one of two free throws and the Pioneers’ clamped down on defense, getting a stop and forcing the Vikings to foul. Ahooja made both charity shots to make it an 80-77 lead.
Grinnell’s defense stepped up again, preventing a 3-point attempt by Lawrence and instead forcing an errant layup in the waning seconds to secure the win and sending the hosts into celebration.
