St. Norbert Battles Back But Falls at UW-Stevens Point

From Sports Information Director, March 4, 2011 | Women's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

STEVENS POINT - St. Norbert College nearly battled back from a big early deficit but eventually succumbed in the second half in a 79-69 loss to UW-Stevens Point in a NCAA Division III Tournament first-round game at Berg Gym.

The Green Knights, ranked 14th in the D3hoops.com Top 25, saw their season end at 23-3. Stevens Point, ranked third by D3hoops.com, improved to 26-2.

St. Norbert fell behind 9-0 and trailed by as many as 14 points at 20-6 just over 9 minutes into the game. The Pointers led 27-14 with 7:52 left before halftime before St. Norbert went on a 15-2 run over the next 3:34 to get to within 30-29 on a 3-pointer by Erin Baganz. The Green Knights were within one three times before settling on a 36-33 halftime deficit.

Lauren Carman's jumper with 16:21 left cut St. Norbert's deficit to 45-38, but the Pointers went on a 7-0 spurt to retake command of the game. The Green Knights trailed by double digits the rest of the way except for getting to within 72-63 with 3:09 to go, but Ashley Averkamp's three-point play eight seconds later was the clincher.

St. Norbert shot 53.1 percent from the floor, making 26 of 49 shots, but committed 21 turnovers. Baganz led St. Norbert with 19 points, while Krista Pelky added 15 points and Jamie Kuhl 14.

Stevens Point was paced by Britta Petersen's 20 points. Petersen shot 10 of 12 from the floor. Andrea Flease fed her teammates with a whopping 14 assists against no turnovers in 31 minutes. Cassie Bandow added 15 points, Sam Barber 14 and Averkamp 13. The Pointers shot 52.4 percent (33-for-63) from the floor.