Lakeland College

Falcons handle Muskies in first battle of NAC North favorites

Athletics - posted on 11/28/2012

MEQUON, Wis. - Brittany Zietlow nearly amassed a triple-double and Concordia University Wisconsin never trailed in defeating the Lakeland College women's basketball team 72-57 in a Northern Athletic Conference game Wednesday night at Buuck Fieldhouse.

The Muskies committed 20 turnovers and had trouble with the Falcons' aggressive defense from the start, dropping to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in the NAC. Concordia, the NAC North Division preseason favorites, bounced back from a loss to Alverno College in its conference opener and improved to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in conference.

Concordia took command in the first half, slowly building its lead and eventually pulling out to a 14-point margin late in the half and leading 34-23 at halftime. The Falcons turned 12 Muskie turnovers into 21 points in the half and committed just three turnovers of their own in the half.

Any attempt for a quick comeback in the second half was extinguished as Concordia hit its first three shots from the field for a 41-25 lead less than three minutes into the second half. The Muskies attempted to battle back but could do little more than trade baskets with the Falcons, getting only as close as 12 points once in the half.

Concordia shot 55.2% in the second half (16-of-29) and 47.3% for the game (26-of-55). The Falcons were led by Zietlow, their 5-foot-3 point guard who took over the game in the second half.

Zietlow finished the game with 14 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists. She scored eight points in the first half, then dished out nine assists in the second half, repeatedly beating the Muskies' press defense and finding open teammates for easy baskets. She assisted on three straight baskets in a 7-0 run late in the second half to put the game away and put Concordia up 64-44 with 4:42 remaining in the game.

Becky Mayo (Sr.-Gladstone, Mich.) played tough inside, finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 7-of-11 from the field. Leah Eisner (Jr.-Stevens Point, Wis.) and Liz Morrison (Fr.-Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) added nine points each. Those three combined to make 14 of 21 shots, but the rest of the team struggled, combining to shoot 7-of-29 for the game.

Camille Parsons led the Falcons in scoring with 17 points. Katie Luethe added 14 points and Tiffany Hendrickson chipped in 10 points. Concordia committed just nine turnovers and in all scored 30 points off Lakeland turnovers.

The Muskies take to the road Saturday for a conference date against Benedictine (Ill.) University at 2 p.m. The game will be the first game of a doubleheader, with the men's game between the two schools to follow at 4:15 p.m.