St. Norbert Holds On at Grinnell

From Sports Information Director, February 5, 2011 | Women's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

GRINNELL, Iowa - St. Norbert College again needed clutch play down the stretch to win and got it as the Green Knights topped Grinnell College 57-46 in a Midwest Conference game at Darby Gym.

The Green Knights, ranked No. 21 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, improved to 18-2 overall and 14-1 in the MWC. Grinnell, which is winless in 25 all-time attempts against the Green Knights, fell to 7-11, 6-8.

Grinnell held a 40-38 lead with 7:26 to go following a 3-pointer by Brianna Gallo. St. Norbert then made all six of its free throws on its next three possessions to take a 44-40 lead with 6:17 left. Grinnell got back to within 49-46 with 3:20 to go on a jumper by Elizabeth Burnett but the Pioneers would not score again.

Erin Baganz canned a 3-pointer with 2:13 left for a six-point lead and some much needed breathing room. The Green Knights then made five of six free throws down the stretch to ice the win.

St. Norbert led 22-16 at halftime after making just 9 of 34 (26.5 percent) field goals in the first half. The Green Knights made 29.3 percent (17-for-58) on their field goals in the game. Krista Pelky led St. Norbert with 12 points, while Bunday and Rachel Hermus each added 10 points.

Grinnell shot 34.7 percent (17-for-49) from the floor but was just 1-for-15 (6.7 percent) from beyond the three-point arc. Burnett was the only Pioneer to score in double figures with 10 points. The Pioneers had 22 turnovers but outrebounded the Green Knights 40-37.