Stormy Petrels Shoot Down Green Knights

From Sports Information Director, December 19, 2008 | Women's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

ATLANTA - Oglethorpe University shot 54.2 percent from the field en route to an 82-69 win over St. Norbert College in the opening game of the Oglethorpe Holiday Classic at Dorough Field House.

The Stormy Petrels, a NCAA Division III Final Four qualifier last season, improved to 7-1 overall and are ranked No. 10 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25. St. Norbert dropped to 5-3, with two losses to nationally ranked teams and NCAA Division II Northern Michigan.

St. Norbert held a 17-14 lead with 11:40 left in the first half on a Victoria Le Fevre layup. But Oglethorpe's high-powered offense kicked into gear after that, going on a 19-2 run over the next six minutes to grab a 33-19 lead with 5:30 left before halftime. Oglethorpe settled on a 42-30 halftime lead.

The Green Knights would get to within 10 points on a conventional three-point play by Denise Heuser, trailing 46-36 with 17:24 left. St. Norbert would get to within 10 points only twice the rest of the game.

Oglethorpe converted on 32 of 59 field goals and had four of its starters reach double figures. Katie Kulavic had 25 points while Tina Grace added 20 points. The Stormy Petrels also shot 9-for-17 from beyond the three-point arc.

St. Norbert shot 41.1 percent from the floor, making 23 of 56 shots. The Green Knights were 2-for-15 on 3-pointers but were 21-for-26 at the free-throw line. Krista Pelky came off the bench to pace the Green Knights with 17 points, and was a perfect 9-for-9 at the free-throw line. Heuser was the only St. Norbert player to score in double figures with 12 points.

The Green Knights face Transylvania University, which is 8-1 on the season, at 2 p.m. EST Saturday at Oglethorpe.