A seven-hour drive down to Grinnell, Iowa was the route the women’s basketball team took this past weekend for their final game of the season. The Vikings were defeated by the Pioneers 62-48 on Saturday, Jan. 18 and were hoping to come out with a win this time around. With Grinnell only one spot above Lawrence in the Midwest Conference standings, the Vikings were determined to end their season with their second conference victory.
For the majority of the first half, the two teams were neck and neck, with a lead never exceeding three points for either team. Sophomore Katie Schumacher made a beautiful jump shot with 4:54 left in the half, giving Lawrence the slightest edge at 18-17. Unwilling to keep the score this close, the Pioneers retaliated by going on a 14-5 run in the remaining minutes, closing the half with a 31-23 lead.
Lawrence opened the second half by going on an 8-1 run, trimming the margin to 39-33 with just 10:17 remaining in the game and their season. Junior Kassidy Rinehart undoubtedly showed up to play, scoring ten points for the Vikings and collecting a team-best eight rebounds. During this second half run, Rinehart scored five of her points and capped off the run with a beautiful three-point play. Assisting the Vikings in this close contest was junior Andrea Wilkinson, who also chipped in ten points for Lawrence to go along with six rebounds.
Despite their best efforts, Lawrence was unable to stop Grinnell in the final minutes of the game. The Pioneers scored the next eight points, pushing their lead to 47-33 with just 7:04 left to play. The Vikings were never able to make a push, as Grinnell was able to hold at least a 12-point lead for the rest of the game.
Ending with a score of 60-50, the Vikings unfortunately were not able to add one last win to their record. Despite the disappointing loss, senior Alex Deshler had a game worth celebrating. Playing in her final game for Lawrence, Deshler scored a team-high 14 points. With these points, Deshler became the ninth player in Lawrence history to score 900 points, finishing her Lawrence career with 909 points, a wonderful achievement.
The Vikings finished their season with an overall record of 2-21 (1-17 MWC). We congratulate the women’s basketball team on a very hard-fought season!