APPLETON, Wis. – The Lawrence University women's basketball team got 18 points from Mallory Meyer and used stifling defense Wednesday to record a 66-45 nonconference victory over Rockford University at Alexander Gymnasium.
    Meyer went 6-for-9 from the floor to score her game-high 18 points and added six rebounds and a pair of blocks. First-year guard Charlotte Brennan added 11 points and handed out a game-high five assists to go with three rebounds for the Vikings (2-1). Maggie Culver had 10 points and four rebounds for Lawrence, and Taylor Svoboda came off the bench to score eight points.
    The Lawrence defense held Rockford (1-1) to just 19 points in the opening half, and the Regents were limited to 28.8 percent shooting from the floor for the game. Rockford also hit on just 3-of-15 shots (20 percent) from beyond the arc.
    The Vikings forced 26 Rockford turnovers and outscored the Regents 20-0 on points off turnovers. Lawrence had just 12 turnovers in the contest.
    Lawrence pulled away in the middle two quarters, and Rockford was unable to mount a challenge late in the game.
    The Vikings led 14-11 after the opening quarter, but Lawrence got five consecutive points from Lydia Lueck before Meyer hit a jumper to push the lead to 23-13. Karly Beck followed with a jumper, and Svoboda's layup off a nice pass from Beck gave Lawrence a 27-13 advantage. The Vikings finished the first half on a 7-0 run, all on free throws, as Meyer scored the first three points and Culver the last four to give Lawrence a 36-19 lead at the break.
    The Vikings then shot 7-for-12 from the floor in the third quarter as the advantage grew. Lawrence went on a 7-0 run late in the quarter on baskets by Culver and Meyer and a 3-pointer by Nikola Kuzmanovic for a 55-31 lead. 
    Svoboda hit a triple early in the fourth quarter for a 60-35 edge, and Emma Moya hit her first career 3-pointer midway through the quarter to give Lawrence its biggest lead to 65-38. 
    Rockford never got closer than the final margin of 21 points after that.
    Lawrence is back at home again on Friday when the Vikings host UW-Superior.