Freshman point guard Cory Paquette led Lawrence with 21 points and six rebounds, but the Vikings fell short, losing 66-54 to Knox College (5-10, 4-6 MWC) Friday night in Alexander Gymnasium. Jenny Haskell and Kelly Ricketts each scored 20 points for the Prairie Fire en route to their fourth conference win.
Lawrence (0-15, 0-10 MWC) started hot, taking a 14-8 lead with just over 13 minutes to go in the first half. Knox fought back, making the score 29-27 with 2:20 to go in the first half. From there, the Prairie Fire burned up the court, going on a 9-0 run to end the half.
Knox also scored the first six points out of the break to take a commanding 44-27 lead after the first four minutes of the second half. The Prairie Fire kept a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half, and Lawrence never got closer than nine points the rest of the way, losing 66-54.
The Vikings matched up with Grinnell College (6-7, 5-5 MWC) Saturday afternoon in a rematch of a game played just one week earlier at Darby Gymnasium in Grinnell, Iowa. The Vikings came ready to play in the first half, leading by as many as four points and keeping the game very tight as the two teams went into the break with the score tied 23-23.
With just five minutes left in the game, Nakita Chadwick’s layup tied the game 34-34. However, the Pioneers scored the next nine points and took a 43-34 lead with 3:12 left. A series of converted free throws trimmed the Grinnell lead to a 44-39 lead with 1:25 to go in the game. The Pioneers proceeded to connect on seven of their eight final-minute free throws and put the game out of reach for the Vikings.
Freshman Alex Deshler led the Vikes with 12 points, and Chadwick contributed 11 points and seven rebounds in the losing effort. Lawrence hosts their next two games before a tough stretch on the road in February. After playing St. Norbert Wednesday night, the Vikings will next play Carroll University 2 p.m. Saturday.
Women’s basketball continues slump
