Warhawks Pull Away From Warriors In Second Half
WLC finishes season 25-3
March 1, 2013
The Warriors had a large contingent Friday nightWHITEWATER, Wis. – The Wisconsin Lutheran College women’s basketball team saw its spectacular season come to an end Friday as it fell to 22nd-ranked Wis.-Whitewater, 68-48, in front of a crowd of 1,063 at Kachel Gymnasium in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament.
The Warriors played a very tightly contested first 9:16 of the half with the Warhawks as they led 11-8 at the 14:08 mark. With the Warriors still clinging to a 13-11 lead, UWW put together the first run of the game as it scored nine straight points for a 20-13 lead with 9:48 remaining. The Warhawks increased their lead to a first-half high 13 points, 29-16, but the Warriors battled back to within four points with 2:22 to play before halftime. Whitewater made the last run of the half, scoring six straight points for a 41-31 halftime lead.
Senior guard Shavon Dillon (Milwaukee, Wis./Hope School) scored nine of Wisconsin Lutheran’s first 11 points, but only played nine minutes due to foul trouble. The Warriors shot 38.5 percent (10-for-26) from the floor in the half, compared to 53.8 percent (14-for-26) for the Warhawks. Cortney Kumerow posted a double-double in the first half with 13 points and 13 rebounds. UWW outscored WLC 14-6 in points in the paint, but the Warriors came out on top in bench points, 13-7.
Wisconsin Lutheran’s second-half deficit hovered between 12 and 14 points for the first six minutes of the half. UWW then built an 18-point lead with a 6-0 run which concluded at the 9:55 mark. WLC was unable to get within 16 points the rest of the way as it was held to 30.8 percent (8-for-26) shooting the second half. UWW shot a comparable 36.4 percent (8-for-22). The Warriors struggled from the charity stripe in the second half, going 0-for-8 and 8-for-18 for the game. Conversely, the Warhawks were 9-for-11 in the second half and 20-for-26 in the contest. After being out-rebounded 20-12 in the first half, the Warriors bounced back to control the glass in the second half, 26-12.
The Warriors were held without a double-digit scorer for the first time all season as Dillon led the way with nine for the game. Junior Melissa Klemm (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) added eight points off the bench.
Kumerow paced the Warhawks (22-6) with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Mary Merg and Kaitlyn Thill added 13 and 12 points, respectively. UWW advances to play Carthage (24-4) Saturday at 7 p.m. in a second round matchup. The Lady Reds defeated Thomas More (27-2) 72-55 in Friday’s other first round matchup.
Wisconsin Lutheran finishes its season 25-3 after winning its third straight NAC Tournament championship and fifth straight Division title.
