The Lawrence women suffered their second defeat of the season when they traveled down to Monmouth Friday. The Fighting Scots led the entire first half and took a 12-point lead into the locker room. The Vikings would rally back in the second half and to take their first lead of the game with a 3-pointer by senior guard Claire Getzoff. The lead was short-lived, however, as Monmouth regained momentum and held of the Vikings to record the 66-63 win.
Sophomore Kelly Mulcahy was Lawrence’s high scorer in the loss with 16 points, while Jenny Stoner put in an impressive effort on both ends of the floor with 10 points and 8 steals. The Vikings’ chance to rebound from the loss was the second leg of their road trip – an encounter with Grinnell College. Lawrence, once again, got off to a poor start as the Pioneers jumped ahead to a 13-6 lead. The Vikings settled down soon after, however,
and ended the first half up 8 points. Grinnell struggled from the 3-point line in their unsuccessful attempts to rally in the second half. The lead was cut to 3 with three minutes remaining, but the Vikings converted enough from the line to hold out for the win.
The new week began with Lawrence, Carroll, and Ripon tied for first place in the conference. The Vikings were presented with the opportunity to knock off one of the three when they traveled to face archrivals Ripon on Tuesday at the Storzer Center. The string of bad starts continued as the Vikings fell behind to a 15-2 Redhawk lead. Carrie Van Groll and Kelly Mulcahy helped rejuvenate the ailing Vikes as they led a rally which tied things up halfway through the half. The Redhawks managed to regain the lead, however, leaving the score at 35-30 at the half.
Mulcahy came out firing in the second half, scoring the Vikings’ first 8 points. Lawrence led for a good eight minutes before Ripon replied to put the teams neck-and-neck as they headed into the final minutes. Getzoff’s trey broke the deadlock with two minutes on the clock. Ripon would fail to come back as the Vikings stayed true from the foul line and stayed tied atop the conference.
There were nine lead changes in the crowd-pleasing encounter, but Lawrence’s contributions off the bench, in the form of Carrie Van Groll, made the difference. The sophomore ended with 23 points, going 6-9 from the floor and 11-13 from the stripe. Mulcahy poured in 18 points, while Getzoff had 14. The Vikings will host three conference opponents in the next week before heading to Carroll for a possible first place showdown. First up is Knox College on Friday. Tip off is set for 5:30 at Alexander Gymnasium.
Women win two of three on the road
