The Lawrence women played their final game of the regular season Saturday when the Green Knights of St. Norbert College visited Alexander Gymnasium. The prior meeting of the two teams back in January was a tight, scrappy encounter in which the Vikings came out the victors.
Unlike the De Pere game, the Vikings managed to get off to a good start and led through most of the first half. A string of missed shots and turnovers, however, allowed the Green Knights back into contention and the teams headed into the break deadlocked at 25-25.
The second half was a hard-fought affair, with the lead changing hands 10 times. The Vikings created several opportunities but were hampered by 1-6 shooting from behind the arc. The Green Knights, on the other hand, converted 5 of 8 3-point attempts as they stayed close in the dying minutes of the game.
Lawrence held the edge 57-52 with 1:44 on the clock and it looked like hosting rights were theirs for the taking. St. Norbert would have none of this, however, as they quickly tied the game with a 3-pointer and a layup. With 24 seconds left in the game, Claire Getzoff had her shot blocked by Norbert’s Meggan Hau. Green Knights’ star center Bianca White then converted 1 of 2 from the line after being fouled with one second remaining to hand Lawrence the 1-point defeat.
Getzoff led Lawrence’s offensive effort with 20 points, and Kelly Mulcahy added 17.
With the series between the teams tied at a game apiece for this season, the Vikings will have their chance at vengeance when they face the Green Knights yet again in a MWC Tournament semifinal today. Carroll bagged hosting rights by downing Beloit over the weekend and will face Ripon in the other semifinal. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Vikes hope they can pull off what Ripon did last year and take the championship as a No. 3 seed. The semifinals are at 5 and 7 p.m., with live stats available through the Midwest Conference website. The final will tip off at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Women drop heartbreaker
