DE PERE – St. Norbert College raced out to a big early lead and then held on during an intensely fought fourth quarter as the Green Knights dealt Wisconsin Lutheran College its first loss of the season in a 59-56 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.
The Green Knights (17-7, 14-3 NACC) snapped a 23-game overall winning streak for the Warriors (20-1, 15-1 NACC), who are ranked No. 15 in the D3hoops.com Top 25.
St. Norbert scored on four of its first six possessions to take an 8-0 lead just over four minutes into the game. The Green Knights made 7 of 15 field-goal attempts in the first quarter to the Warriors' 1-for-10 to take a 14-2 lead at the end of the period.
Baskets by
Emma Morrisey,
Jessica Boerner and a 3-pointer from
Olivia DeCleene pushed St. Norbert ahead 21-2 with 8:21 left in the second quarter. After a
Kaycee Gierczak basket at the 7:22 mark put the Green Knights ahead 23-5, Wisconsin Lutheran embarked on a 14-2 run over the next 2:54, fueled by three Ally Gough 3-pointers. A
Natalie Cerrato 3-pointer briefly stemmed the tide putting St. Norbert ahead 28-19, but the Warriors pulled to within 28-23 at halftime.
Wisconsin Lutheran cut the deficit down to three points five times in the third quarter, but St. Norbert answered with the next points each time to maintain some breathing room. Gierczak had a conventional three-point play with 3:34 left for a 41-33 lead. Cerrato then had two big free throws with 0.8 seconds remaining in the quarter for a 46-41 lead.
The Warriors got to within 50-49 with 6:05 left after a 3-pointer by Gough, but St. Norbert would get three stops as a Gierczak free throw and a Jepson hoop with 4:25 left put St. Norbert up 53-49. Maria Murray got loose for Wisconsin Lutheran to cut the deficit to 53-51 with 3:45 left, but DeCleene answered 16 seconds later with a 3-pointer from the wing. Morrisey then stole the inbound pass and converted for a 58-51 lead with 3:19.
Wisconsin Lutheran responded with a trey from Kaitlyn Shadoski 16 seconds later, and after a stop Shadoski scored again to get to within 58-56 with 2:15 to go. Neither team would score for the next two minutes, with Gough missing a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 23 seconds to go. The Warriors got the rebound and eventually turned the ball over. Morrisey halved a pair of free throws with 8.4 seconds left for the game's final point. Wisconsin Lutheran then advanced the ball into the front court and was fouled with the Green Knights using a foul to give. The Warriors then inbounded from in front of their bench with 3.5 seconds left but could not get a shot off before time expired.
St. Norbert shot 39.7 percent (23-for-58) from the floor and played an excellent floor game with only six turnovers. Gierczak led the Green Knights with 14 points and nine rebounds, while DeCleene added 10 points and five steals.
Wisconsin Lutheran shot 38.8 percent (19-for-49) from the floor and held a commanding 43-27 rebounding margin. Shadoski led the Warriors with 17 points, while Sam Leisemann had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Gough finished with 12 points.
