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Cheering
Cory Hall
68
Winner Grinnell GC 19-7,12-4 Midwest Conference
50
Lawrence LU 18-8,12-4 Midwest Conference
Winner
Grinnell GC
19-7,12-4 Midwest Conference
68
Final
50
Lawrence LU
18-8,12-4 Midwest Conference
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Grinnell GC 22 5 11 30 68
Lawrence LU 17 9 10 14 50

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Ted Schultz

Grinnell women move a step closer to historic MWC Tourney title, NCAA Tourney berth

Pioneers topple Lawernce in semifinal round

RIPON, Wis. - The third time proved to be the charm for the Grinnell College women's basketball team.

After losing two close games to Lawrence University during the regular season, Grinnell used a massive fourth quarter to topple the Vikings 68-50 Friday night in the Midwest Conference Tournament semifinal round. That sent Grinnell to the league tourney title game for the first time in 34 years.

The Pioneers stretched their winning streak to eight games, the longest for the program since the 1990-91 season, while advancing to Saturday's 3 p.m. championship game against tourney host and top seed Ripon College. The teams split during the regular season.

A victory Saturday would give Grinnell its first NCAA Division III Tournament berth in program history. Grinnell improved to 19-7 with the victory, just one win shy of the program record. Lawrence finished its campaign at 18-8.

It proved to be a record night for Grinnell's Sara Booher '25, who before the game earned the prestigious MWC Elite 20 Award. She set the Pioneers' career record for games played with 95 and also established a new season mark for rebounds, grabbing 14 to boost her total to 279. That surpassed the previous mark of 276 by Laura VanSickle in 1988-89.

The Pioneers featured a balanced scoring attack, with five players hitting double figures. Bailey Strovers '27 led the charge with 15 points and nearly had a double-dobule with nine rebounds. Nikki Ware '25 added 12 points, while Skylar Thomas '26, Nora Lynch '28 and Amelia Rigel '28 all scored 10. Rigel's total was a career-high.

Booher blocked six shots, moving her season total to 85 which is second all-time at GC, and had three assists. Grinnell also broke a school record for rebounds in a season with 1,156.

The third-seeded Pioneers shot out to a 22-17 lead by the end of the first period before the second-seeded Vikings closed within 27-26 by halftime. Grinnell was ahead 38-36 by the end of the third period, setting the stage for final 10-minute surge.

Grinnell opened the last period with a 13-4 run and never looked back. Strovers opened the frame with a layup and Rigel drained a trey, making it 43-36. After a layup by Lawrence, Ware countered with a basket. The Vikings then made two free throws to put the score at 45-40.

Rigel followed with a layup and free throw, and Ware sank a 3-pointer to put the Pioneers ahead 51-40 with 6:34 left. Grinnell pulled away from there, hitting its free throws to secure the victory.

Ware pushed her season free throw total to 87, which ranks 13th in program history, and Strovers moved to 11th for season 3-pointers with 53. On the team season chart, Grinnell jumped to fifth in blocked shots with 107 and 15th in steals with 181.

The Elite 20 award presented to Booher goes to the student-athlete competing at the meet with the highest cumulative GPA. The award recognizes the commitment of the student-athlete toward the pursuit of excellence in both the athletic and academic realms as measured by reaching the pinnacle of competition within the league while also achieving the highest academic standard among their peers.
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