Sports
The Lakeland College
M I R R O R Issue 3, February 25, 2010
13
Women’s basketball earns No. 3 seed in NAC Johnson’s squad heads into tournament with head of steam after three wins By Joey O’Brien
Staff Reporter obrienj@lakeland.edu
T
he Lakeland College women’s basketball team claimed the third seed in the NAC Conference Tournament with a win against Benedictine in the NAC Challenge Game Saturday, Feb. 20. The Muskies finished the season winning two of their last three regular season games. On Feb. 11, the Muskies traveled to Madison to take on the Edgewood Eagles at the Todd Wehr Edgedome. The Muskies fell short in this divisional match-up, losing a heartbreaking game that ended 52-51. The Muskies had taken an early lead in this game, and held the lead deep into the second period. With 7:51 left in the second half, the Muskies pushed their lead to ten when senior guard Chelsea Coenen put down both of her free throws. The Muskies were only able to knock down one field goal in the remainder of the game, along with a few free throws. The Eagles picked up the pace of the game and ended the contest with an 18-7 run. Lakeland led the entire game until Shea Beckith of Edgewood knocked down both her free throws to tie the game with 1:16 left in regulation. Edgewood took their first lead with just under a minute to go. A missed lay-up and a turnover gave the Eagles the ball with 16 seconds left in the game. A foul put Edgewood’s Hannah Shultz to the line and she knocked down both of her free throws to put the Muskies out of reach. Lakeland junior guard Mary Dennewitz ended the game with a futile three-point shot. Senior forward Katie Kilton lead the Muskies with ten points, six rebounds, and two steals. Off the bench, freshman center Leah
CARLOS MILLAN/MILLANC@LAKELAND.EDU
Above: K.C. Blahnik (left) and Becca Tilleman (right) trap a Finlandia opponent earlier this season. Below: Sophomore guard Erin Cepa defends a Finlandia opponent.
Eisner contributed eight points, three rebounds, and three steals. Freshmen guard Dana Henrichs defensively contributed a team high five steals. The Muskies bounced back on Saturday, Feb. 13, as they
dominated Marian 68-44 on Senior Day, at the Moose and Dona Woltzen Gymnasium. During a halftime ceremony Lakeland thanked seniors Blahnik, Coenen, Terra Hiben, and Kilton for their contributions to the women’s bas-
CARLOS MILLAN/MILLANC@LAKELAND.EDU
ketball program. “It was certainly an emotional day for our four seniors, not knowing if they’ll play another home game this season,” Lakeland Head Coach Teri Johnson said. “They came out wanting to make a statement. We were very happy with their play as a group.” The Muskies took the early lead, but the Sabres fought back to tie the game at 19 with 9:41 left in the first half. The Muskies defense held the Sabres to only one made field goal for the remainder of the first half. After sophomore Erin Cepa was able to knock down both of her free throws, Denewitz was able to put down a jump shot and assisted on the buzzer-beating layup from Henrichs to give the Muskies a 32-21 lead at the half. The Sabres were able to bring the difference down to six within a few minutes into the second half, however the determination of the Muskies would put hold on any Sabre comeback. The Muskies made over 50 percent of their field goals in the second half compared to the Sabres 32 percent shooting which proved to be the difference in this ball game. The four seniors played ex-
ceptionally well in this contest, combining for an astonishing 36 points and 17 rebounds. Blahnik led the Muskies with 16 points, eight rebounds, and three steals. Dennewitz contributed eleven points and three rebounds, and Cepa added nine points. The Muskies won their season finale against the North Division leader Concordia Wisconsin at the John Buuck Field House in Mequon. Dennewitz came through in the clutch when she made four free throws in the remaining 35 seconds of the game, which gave the Muskies the edge in this 72-66 rivalry game. Blahnik put the Muskies up by two on a 3-point play when she converted a lay up while being fouled with 1:40 to go. On the next Muskie possession, Henrichs made a layup of her own. Then Dennewitz was fouled on the next three Lakeland possessions, and would make four out of six of her free throws. The Muskies would go on to end the game with a Blahnik steal and another Henrichs layup, giving Lakeland the victory over the number one seed ConcorSEE BASKETBALL/PAGE 16