Grinnell women beat Lawrence in Midwest Conference tournament

(LAWRENCE ATHLETICS)  RIPON, Wis. — A big second-half scoring run was the difference Friday as the Lawrence University women’s basketball team fell 68-50 to Grinnell College in the Midwest Conference Tournament semifinals at Weiske Gymnasium.
Grinnell will play Ripon College on Saturday for the tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Lawrence (18-8) looked like it had seized control of the game in the third quarter, but Grinnell (19-7) scored 13 consecutive points to grab the momentum back. The Vikings closed to five points early in the fourth but got no closer.
Olivia Kesti led the Vikings with 12 points as she went 5-for-8 from the floor, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range. Sophie Morey added nine points and a team-best nine rebounds for Lawrence. Caroline Sharpe picked up eight points and three rebounds for the Vikings.
Lawrence senior Mallory Meyer finished with six points and became the sixth player in program history to top 1,000 points. Meyer finished her career with 1,002 points.
Bailey Strovers led five players in double figures with 15 points, and Sara Booher pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
Lawrence was frigid from the field as the Vikings shot 22.4 percent, hitting 17-of-76 shots. Grinnell shot 43.5 percent from the floor.
Despite the poor shooting, Lawrence stayed close in the first half and finished on a 12-5 run. The Vikings were down 22-14 when Caroline Sharpe drained a 3-pointer and Kesti followed with a turnaround jumper.
After a Grinnell jumper, Sharpe hit a jumper and Morey had a steal and layup to cut the lead to 25-21. Strovers countered with a driving layup for Grinnell, but Josie Eager drained a 3-pointer to trim the margin to 27-26 at the half.
Lawrence opened the second half on a 10-3 run to grab a 36-30 lead. A driving layup from Morey and a pair of Charlotte Brennan free throws tied the game at 30-30 before Kesti hit a 3-pointer with 5:42 left in the third to give the Vikings a 33-30 edge.
Sharpe followed with another 3-pointer to put the Vikings up 36-30.
Over the next five minutes, Grinnell scored 13 unanswered points for take a 43-36 lead.
Kate Adams’ driving layup stopped the run for the Vikings, and a pair of Maggie Culver free throws cut the lead to 45-40 with 7:42 left.
A three-point play and a 3-pointer gave the Pioneers a 51-40 lead, and the Vikings couldn’t get closer than nine points the rest of the way.