PLYMOUTH, Wis. -- A comeback by the Lawrence University women's basketball team came up just short Saturday in a 55-51 nonconference loss at Lakeland University.
    Lawrence (2-3) trailed by as many as 19 points early in the fourth quarter at Woltzen Gymnasium before trimming the lead to three on three different occasions in the final two minutes. Lakeland (3-3) banked in an improbable 3-pointer from the wing, and that proved to be a key basket in the final minute.
    Ashley Batac led Lawrence with 16 points as she connected on four 3-pointers. Batac added four assists and three steals for the Vikings. Kenya Earl had a double-double for the Vikings with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Rookie forward Mallory Meyer added eight points and five rebounds for Lawrence.
    Kerstin Sauerbrei led Lakeland with 12 points.   
    A pair of free throws from Morgan Zenon gave the Muskies a 46-27 lead with 9:11 remaining in the contest. Batac then hit a 3-pointer as the Vikings started to claw their way back into the game.
    Lakeland led 49-34 when the Vikings scored the game's next 12 points. 
    Batac's layup trimmed the lead to 49-37, and Batac then buried a 3-pointer with 3:42 remaining to get the lead to single digits at 49-40. 
    The Muskies missed their next three shots, and Batac drained another 3-pointer to cut the margin to 49-43. After another Lakeland miss, Batac connected on another 3-pointer to trim the lead to 49-46 with 1:55 left.
    The teams traded misses before Sauerbrei banked in a 3-pointer from the left wing to give Lakeland a 52-46 lead with 38 seconds left. Earl countered with a triple of her own to bring the margin back to 52-49 with 28 ticks remaining. 
    The Vikings were forced to foul and Lakeland made two free throws, sandwiched around a missed Lawrence jumper, for a 54-49 lead with 17 seconds remaining. Earl then made two free throws with six seconds left to cut the lead to 54-51, but that's as close as the Vikings would get.
    Lawrence led 12-5 after the first quarter, but Lakeland closed the first half on a 9-2 run to grab a 26-21 lead at the half. Lakeland outscored the Vikings 15-6 in the third quarter to lead 41-27 heading to the final quarter. 
    The Vikings are back in action on Wednesday when they open Midwest Conference play at home against Beloit College.