A 42-point second half performance guided Luther to a 64-57 Iowa Conference women’s basketball win over Wartburg Friday, Jan. 23, at Knights Gymnasium in Waverly. The Norse (9-5 overall, 5-2 IIAC) hit 53.8 percent from the field in the second stanza after struggling to the tune of less than 30 percent in the first half.
Senior forward Jessica Mennen of Dumont kept the home team close, tallying a game-high 17 points. She also led the Knights with seven rebounds and three steals and joined junior center Amanda Berner of Calamus with three blocked shots. First-year forward Natalie Tarkett of Waterloo dropped in 10 for the Knights.
First-year forward Erica Svien came off the bench to lead Luther (9-5 overall, 5-2 IIAC) with 14 points. Junior guard Anne Bautch added 11 and was nine-of-10 at the charity stripe.
Wartburg (9-6 overall, 5-3 IIAC) jumped out to an 18-11 lead with less than five and a half minutes to go in the first half. Luther rallied back for a 22-22 halftime tie. The second half saw the lead switch hands as the Orange and Black led by as many as three and the Norse opened a seven-point cushion.
Head coach Monica Severson’s team took the lead for the final time at 53-52 on a layup by senior forward Kelly Foley of Tipton with just under four minutes left. Luther took off on a 7-2 run at that time and was never headed.