Green Knights Stay Unbeaten In MWC With Win Over Carroll

From Sports Information Director, January 30, 2016 | Women's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

WAUKESHA - St. Norbert College remained unblemished in Midwest Conference play with a 65-49 win over Carroll University at Van Male Fieldhouse.

The Green Knights (14-4, 13-0 MWC) won for the 41st time in their last 42 games against MWC foes. Carroll fell to 6-11, 5-7.

St. Norbert led 4-0 to open the game on baskets by Mallory Nickerson and Brianna Byrne, but after that neither team led by more than three points the rest of the first quarter. St. Norbert took a 15-13 lead into the first-quarter break after a basket by Stephanie Weigman with 10 seconds left in the period.

Carroll hung with the Green Knights early in the second quarter, forcing a 20-20 tie with 6:08 left on a Brittney Wald jumper. St. Norbert closed out the quarter on a decisive 12-0 run. Weigman hit the first two baskets during the run, followed by a 3-pointer by Regan Carmichael. Jill Kleiman had a conventional three-point play with 1:06 left, while Sarah Ratajczyk's layup with five seconds left sent the Green Knights into the locker room with a 32-20 lead.

St. Norbert led 34-22 early in the third quarter before the Pioneers made a 13-4 run to get to within 38-35 with 3:47 left. The Green Knights came again, going on a 12-1 run the rest of the quarter to seal the win. Kleiman made a pair of free throws followed by a 3-pointer from Rachel Hagge. Carroll split a pair of free throws and Ratajczyk responded with a hoop at the 2:38 mark for a 45-36 lead. Hagge had a layup and Kyra VandenHeuvel closed out the quarter with a conventional three-point play for a 50-36 lead after 30 minutes.

The Green Knights led by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter.

St. Norbert shot 47.2 percent (25-for-53) from the floor. Remarkably, the Green Knights did not have a player reach double figures in scoring but 10 players did crack the points column. Byrne and Ratajczyk each had nine points, while Carmichael had eight points and eight rebounds.

Carroll shot 31.6 percent (18-for-57) from the floor. Malory Christenson had 17 points to lead the Pioneers. Wald and Brittany Groer added 10 points apiece.