Lakeland College

Mayo, Eisner patrol middle again as Lakeland overcomes Marian

Athletics - posted on 12/8/2012

FOND DU LAC - Becky Mayo (Sr.-Gladstone, Mich.) and Leah Eisner (Jr.-Stevens Point, Wis.) both posted double-doubles and the Lakeland College women's basketball team overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Marian University 61-49 Saturday afternoon in Northern Athletics Conference play.

Mayo finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds and Eisner added 13 points and 13 rebounds as the Muskies won their third straight game and improved to 4-5 overall and 4-2 in the NAC. Marian saw its brief two-game winning streak end and dropped to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play.

Lakeland withstood a three-point barrage from the Sabres, who hit 15 three-pointers in the game. Nine of those came in the first half, when Marian led by as many as 12 points and built a 31-24 halftime lead.

The Muskies made sure that would be the only area the Sabres would dominate, though, and the three-pointer was just about the only offense Marian generated. The Sabres made just two field goals inside the three-point line in the entire game, and also never made a trip to the free throw line.

Lakeland limited Marian to 30.9% shooting (17-of-55) and also dominated the boards with a 48-31 rebounding advantage. The Sabres shot just 20.7% in the second half (6-of-29), and the Muskies used excellent defense and better offense in the second half to slowly take over.

Marian hit a three-pointer on its first possession of the second half to extend its lead to 34-24 before the Muskies went to work. Lakeland outscored the Sabres 17-3 over the next seven minutes, with Dana Henrich (Sr.-Fall Creek, Wis.) starting the run with eight quick points, and the Muskies took the lead for just the second time in the game on a layup by Taylor Jandrin (Jr.-Forestville, Wis.).

The Muskies would never trail again and closed the run by going ahead 41-37 with 13:03 left on a free throw by Eisner. The Sabres continued to hang around, though, and still trailed by just two when Ally Hopp hit a three-pointer to make it 45-43 with 7:21 left in the game.

The Muskies limited Marian to just six points the rest of the way, though, and closed the game on a 16-6 run, including a 9-0 spurt over the final two minutes to lead by as many as 15 points. Jandrin and Henrichs both had 10 points each in the second half and Mayo and Eisner combined for 13 rebounds in the second half, equaling the Sabres by themselves as Lakeland out-boarded the hosts 23-13 in the final 20 minutes.

Henrichs finished with 14 points and Jandrin's 10 made for four players in double figures. Jandrin added six rebounds and Henrichs and Aimee Thrune (Jr.-Prairie du Sac, Wis.) both finished with four assists.

The Muskies finished shooting 22-of-63 (34.9%) but used their 22 offensive rebounds for 19 second chance points. Lakeland also shot 12-of-15 from the free throw line (80.0%) and committed just 10 turnovers against the Sabres' matchup zone defense.

Rissa Cerveny led Marian with 14 points, including four three-pointers. Amelia Mersberger added 12 points, all on three-pointers.

Lakeland will take a break for finals this week before facing Concordia University Wisconsin on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Woltzen Gymnasium. The Muskies and Falcons will be meeting for the second time this season already, and Lakeland will be attempting to avenge a 72-57 loss on Nov. 28.