APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University women's basketball team started fast Saturday, but the Vikings dropped a 65-52 nonconference decision to St. Norbert College at Alexander Gymnasium.
    Lawrence jumped out to a 15-8 lead after the first quarter, but St. Norbert outscored the Vikings 44-18 over the middle two quarters to take control.
    Kenya Earl paced Lawrence (5-6) with 14 points and 14 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season and 22nd of her career. Maggie Culver added 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block for the Vikings. 
    Lydia Lueck picked up eight points, and Mallory Meyer had seven points, six rebounds and three assists for the Vikings.
    Kaycee Gierczak paced St. Norbert (7-4) with 18 points.
    The Vikings jumped out to a 13-4 lead to start the game with Meyer picking up two baskets early. Ashley Batac hit a 3-pointer early in the quarter and added a layup late as the Vikings built a 15-6 advantage before an Olivia DeCleene layup trimmed the margin to 15-8 after one quarter.
    The Green Knights then went 10-for-16 from the floor in the second quarter, and St. Norbert finished the second quarter on a 17-4 run to lead 31-24 at the half.
    The Vikings started strong in the third quarter as Meyer scored three points and Lueck drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 32-30 with 7:30 left in the period. St. Norbert then scored the next 11 points to grab a 45-30 edge with 2:40 remaining in the third quarter. Culver's layup stopped the scoring drought for Lawrence, but St. Norbert would go on to lead 52-33 heading to the fourth quarter.
    St. Norbert led by as many as 21 points early in the final quarter before Lawrence trimmed the final margin to 13.
    The Vikings return to action on Tuesday when they host No. 23 UW-Oshkosh.