WAUKESHA, Wis. - Brittney Wald was on a mission.
Wald, a 5-foot-6 senior guard from Antigo, Wis., scored 18 of her game-high 22 points in the second half to help lead the Carroll University women's basketball team to a 75-69 victory over Augustana College in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Van Male Field House on Saturday afternoon.
It was the second consecutive conference victory for Carroll, which celebrated Alumni Day by improving to 4-7 in the league standings and 7-13 overall.
The scrappy, steadily improving Pioneers led 29-20 at the intermission, including a momentum-building 21-4 run in the opening quarter.
"It was our biggest victory of the season," said Wald, a second-team all-conference selection last year who converted all four of her 3-point baskets during a key three-minute stretch to extend the lead to 41-32 with 4:34 left in the third quarter. "Coming into the game, we really wanted to do our best to play well to honor all of the players who have come before us. With it being Alumni Day, it really emphasized that we're all a part of a special family and energized us when we took the court.
"Being a young team, it was great to be able to showcase our maturity, build off the momentum from the first half and make plays down the stretch to close the game out on a strong note. Throughout the day, we played hard on each possession, came together and everything just clicked."
Carroll led 53-49 with 8:10 remaining in the fourth quarter but responded with a 14-2 run over a key four-minute stretch.
Freshman guard
Anna Menges (Manitowoc, Wis.) ignited what proved to be the decisive fourth-quarter run with a critical 3-pointer with 7:50 left.
Junior guard/forward
Rachel Van Sluys (Sheboygan, Wis.) contributed five consecutive points during the crucial scoring surge, including a slashing layup off an assist from freshman point guard
Emily Majerus (Plymouth, Wis.) to extend the lead to 58-49 with 7:32 remaining.
"After meeting with so many former players prior to the start of the game, it was nice to know how many of them support us and believe in what we're doing," said Van Sluys, who followed with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists in her second game back from injury. That belief really acted as a great inspiration, fired us up and made quite an impression. What started as a special day to honor the program, turned into a very special, memorable victory."
Freshman forward
Katie Rossetti (Wauconda, Ill.) registered 14 points and 11 rebounds for the inspired Pioneers, who made six 3-pointers, 15 of 25 free throws and shot 50 percent from field-goal range. Freshman small forward
Delaney Sjong (Salem, Wis.) added 11 points, five rebounds and two steals for Carroll, which maintained a 41-36 rebound advantage.
"After losing to them by 35 points the first time we played them (referring to an 89-54 road loss to Augustana on Jan. 13), we felt there were so many things that we could've done better so we approached this game with a lot of personal pride and wanted to play up to our potential," Carroll second-year head coach
Lindsay Schultz said. "From start to finish, we really attempted to prove ourselves and show once again our ability to be resilient. I'm just very proud of how we battled every step of the way."
Alexis Jones scored a team-high 16 points for Augustana, which lost its fourth straight to drop to 5-7 in conference and 12-9 overall.
PIONEER FAST FACTS
What: The Carroll University women's basketball team defeated Augustana College 75-69 in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Van Male Field House on Saturday afternoon.
Record: 4-7 in conference and 7-13 overall
Scoring Leaders: Brittney Wald (22 points), Katie Rossetti (14 points), Rachel Van Sluys (13 points), Delaney Sjong (11 points), Mallory Olszak (5 points), Emily Majerus (5 points)
Rebound Leaders: Rossetti (11), Sjong (5), Majerus (5), Van Sluys (4), Wald and Hailey Herriges (3
Notable: The Pioneers led 53-49 with 8:10 remaining in the fourth quarter but responded with a 14-2 run over a key four-minute stretch.
