Late Charge Pushes St. Norbert Past Beloit

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, January 8, 2019 | Women's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - St. Norbert College rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half to post a thrilling 67-66 win over Beloit College in a Midwest Conference game on Connie Tilley Court at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.

The Green Knights trailed 54-40 after Beloit's Shelby Kline canned a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left in the third quarter. St. Norbert still found itself trailing by nine point at 62-53 with 4:58 to go before a furious last-ditch rally pulled out the win.

Christine Olijnyk's jumper started a run, while Sarah Neumann's conventional three-point play brought the Green Knights to within 62-58 with 3:57 to go. Beloit's Candace Cunningham hit a jumper with 3:24 left, but Neumann answered with 3:08 to go. Following a Beloit miss, Olijnyk hit another shot for a 64-62 deficit with 2:35 left. The Green Knights would get another defensive stop and Macie Zurfluh would split a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one.

St. Norbert stymied Beloit again, setting up Macie Zurfluh's 3-pointer with 1:18 left for a 66-64 lead. Cunningham was slapped with a technical foul after the shot, with Zurfluh splitting the free throws for a 67-64 edge. Cunningham responded with a hoop with 1:03 left, but that would be the last points of the game. Beloit's Lauren Glaser's elbow jumper as time expired rimmed out, giving the Green Knights the win.

The first half was a defensive battle, with Beloit leading 23-21 at halftime. The third quarter turned into racehorse basketball, with the Buccaneers holding a 31-21 edge in those 10 minutes for a 54-42 edge after the period.

St. Norbert shot 41.4 percent (24-for-58) from the floor. Olijnyk and Zurfluh had 14 points apiece, while Neumann came off the bench to add 12 points. Olivia DeCleene added five points and a team-high eight rebounds with three assists and no turnovers in 36 minutes.

Beloit shot 37.3 percent (25-for-67) from the floor. Kline led the Buccaneers with 23 points, while Cunningham added 12 points and 17 rebounds.