The LU women’s basketball team had a good weekend. They defeated three conference opponents, one of whom was ranked 24th in the nation. With the sweep, the Vikings now find themselves in the thick of the MWC playoff race, right where they want to be.The Vikings started the weekend off right with a 70-61 win over Illinois College on Friday. The game went back and forth in the first half, with the Vikings keeping tabs on IC star Adrienne Dickerson. IC took a 29-23 lead into the half, but it was not nearly a big enough lead.
The Vikings came out in the second half, and immediately went to work. They hit two three pointers within the first three minutes to claw back and tie the game at 33. They would hit five treys in the second half, and eight for the game. Both Carla Zarecki and Claire Getzoff had three apiece for the Vikings. IC and the Vikings continued to trade baskets, and the Vikings tried to break away but couldn’t. The killer play for the Lady Blues was another Getzoff three-pointer with four minutes left. That bumped the lead up to seven, and IC could never get close enough in the end. The Vikings went on to the first of three wins 70-61.
The Vikings got huge games from Zarecki and Getzoff. Both players had nineteen points, and were aided by Felice Porrata, who had eighteen of her own. Porrata also had ten rebounds to complete the double-double. Getzoff would have an even bigger game against Lake Forest on Saturday.
The Vikings jumped all over the 24th ranked Foresters in the first half on Saturday. Lake Forest only shot twenty percent in the first half, and LU took advantage. LU jumped out immediately to a 12-0 lead, and stretched the lead to nineteen points at one time at 27-8. The teams went into the half with LU leading 31-16. However, the game would get much more exciting in the second half.
In the second half, the three time defending MWC champs found their stroke. They went on a huge run to begin the second half. The Foresters went on a 26-11 run to tie the game for the first time at 42-42 with just over ten minutes remaining. The teams traded baskets and then a Kristy Freeman three pointer put Lake Forest in the lead for the first time with 6:06 to play.
The Foresters lead 51-50 at that point, and would use the Freeman three-pointer as a springboard for an 11-0 run and a 59-50 lead with 3:04 to play. The Vikings took a time out, and in the huddle coach Amy Proctor got then ready for a run. The Vikings began right away with a Getzoff three. A Lauren Tarrolly steal and lay-up cut the lead to four, and then another Getzoff jumper cut it to two. Becca Reason tied the game with 34 seconds remaining on a lay-up and both teams readied for a crazed last few seconds.
Reason fouled Forester guard Kandyce Green, and she hit both free throws with six ticks remaining to put the Foresters on top by two. However the Vikings were not to be stopped. The Vikings got the ball to Getzoff on the left wing, who had the hot hand all game. She put the three pointer up and swished it through as the horn sounded to give the Vikings the 62-61 upset win.
Getzoff had a monster day against the Foresters. She ended up with twenty-three points and eight rebounds. She hit three treys on the day. The Vikings second leading scorer was Reason who added nine of her own. It was the first loss of the season for the Foresters, and dropped them out of the national top twenty-five. The Vikings then had a two-day rest before playing again, this time against Carroll.
The Vikings again got off to a hot start and took advantage of their opponent’s shooting woes. Carroll shot only sixteen percent in the first half, a horrendous number. The Vikings jumped out early and staked a 26-8 lead at the half. Getzoff, Reason and Porrata all had seven points a piece at the half for the Vikings. The onslaught would continue in the second half as the Vikings stretched their lead out to 44-15 at one point. This allowed Coach Proctor to play many of her subs. Carroll started to get hot from behind the arc, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Vikings coasted to a 55-44 victory. Getzoff ended up with 16 leading all scorers, and Porrata added 11. Getzoff scored fifty-eight points in the three games, averaging almost twenty points per game. She is second in the MWC in scoring.
The Vikings are now 3-3 in the MWC and are in fifth place. The Vikings will try to keep their hot streak alive this weekend when they travel to Monmouth and Grinnell.