APPLETON, Wis. -- Lawrence University women's basketball star Kenya Earl etched her name in the school's record book Saturday, and she did it in winning fashion.
    Earl broke Lawrence's career scoring record as part of the Vikings' 66-48 Midwest Conference victory over Grinnell College at Alexander Gymnasium. Earl scored 12 points to push her career total to 1,489 points and broke the record of 1,487 set by Lawrence Hall of Famer Claire Getzoff in 2006.
    "I really wanted to hit it today, but I didn't want to put pressure on myself," Earl said. "I thought today was special. I wanted to hit it at home. I had my mom and sister come down for this game. I'm just lucky I did today."
    Earl needed two more points to break the record before she drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key early in the fourth quarter to put her over the top. She finished with the 23rd double-double of her career as she pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. 
    "When we (the coaching staff) got here (in 2018), we knew how special Kenya was and quickly realized she was multi-talented and could score in a multitude of ways," Lawrence coach Riley Woldt said. "We changed our offense to use her in multiple ways. She's had to carry that scoring burden. ... She has some pretty strong shoulders."
    Woldt said while Earl has been the focus of the team and draws the attention of opponents, she is a prototypical hard worker and team player.
    "We keep talking about getting better as a team, and the goals we want to accomplish as a program," Woldt said. "Kenya's been a big part of that."
    Earl was one of three Vikings (6-8, 3-3 MWC) who scored in double figures. Mallory Meyer finished with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Maggie Culver had 10 points and six rebounds.
    Three more Vikings, Lydia Lueck, Ashley Batac and Delaney Brooks, had nine points apiece. Brooks added five rebounds, and Batac tied for game-high honors with three assists.
    Erin Lillis paced Grinnell (5-9, 2-5) and all scorers with 21 points.
    Lawrence grabbed the lead on a Batac 3-pointer at 5-2 and never gave it back. The Vikings scored the final four points of the first quarter on baskets from Lueck and Culver and led 19-13 after the first quarter.
    The Vikings got the lead to double digits at 33-23 after Batac buried another 3-pointer, but Grinnell scored the final five points of hte second quarter to trim the advantage to 33-28 at the break.
    Lawrence's lead fluctuated between 11 and six points in the third quarter, and Batac's driving layup put the Vikings up 50-42 heading to the fourth quarter.
    Earl's record-breaking 3-pointer put the Vikings up 53-42 with 7:28 left in the game, but Grinnell got the game's next two baskets to trim the lead back to 53-46. 
    The Vikings then put Grinnell away with a 8-0 run as Brooks started the outburst with a layup. Libby Crandall followed with a pair of free throws and Culver got a putback and a jumper to put Lawrence up 61-46. Grinnell didn't get closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
    Lawrence returns to action on Jan. 22 when the Vikings travel to Monmouth College.

The Lawrence women's basketball team surrounds new career scoring leader Kenya Earl
following the victory over Grinnell.