The women’s basketball team traveled to Illinois College and Grinnell College this past weekend for two conference games. In two back-and-forth battles, the team ended up on the short end of both games.Friday night the team took on Illinois College. Lawrence quickly jumped to an early lead, up by as many as seven, but Illinois College battled back, taking the lead with 4:16 left in the first half. The score at halftime had Lawrence down 40-28.
Lawrence opened the second half scoring 17 points in the first seven minutes, to bring the game to 47-45. Lawrence took the lead briefly with 5:56 left on a jumper by senior Kelly Mulcahy to make the score 60-59, but a 9-0 run by Illinois College put Lawrence behind for good. The final score was 76-67.
Lawrence was led by Mulcahy and sophomore Caresse Reiland, who put up 24 and 23 points respectively. Illinois College had no one to cover the pair of Mulcahy and Reiland effectively.
The return of senior Jenny Stoner to the court was a welcome sight for the Vikes. Stoner suffered a wrist injury earlier in the season that has kept her sidelined since before winter break.
Saturday night, the Vikings battled Grinnell in a close game. The game was up and down for the Vikings, with five lead changes in the first half. The score at halftime was 38-37 Grinnell.
In the second half, Grinnell shot out to an early lead, but Lawrence battled back, tying the game on several occasions and taking the lead briefly with 3:07 left. Grinnell’s ability to hit big shots down the stretch ultimately led to a 78-72 Viking loss.
Stoner was a huge asset for the Vikings, covering Grinnell star Hannah Wolf. Stoner limited Wolf to 16 points on the night; the previous game against Lawrence, Wolf put up 38. Four Vikings put up double-digit points, led by Reiland with 19. Stoner led the team with nine boards and seven assists.
The Vikings were in De Pere Thursday for a game with St. Norbert College. They face Carroll College at Alexander Gymnasium this Saturday at 2 p.m.