APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University women's basketball team took North Park University's best punch Wednesday night, but the Lawrence counterattacked and posted a 65-57 nonconference victory at Alexander Gymnasium.
    Lawrence built a 12-point lead in the third quarter, but North Park rallied to take the lead late. Lawrence bounced back with some key defensive stops, and a big basket from Mallory Meyer to earn the victory.    
    Maggie Culver paced Lawrence with 18 points, and she added eight rebounds. Meyer scored 14 points and grabbed six boards, and rookie Charlotte Brennan added 14 points, three rebounds and three assists in her Lawrence debut. Libby Crandall chipped in with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds for Lawrence.
    Lawrence's Lydia Lueck picked up nine points and five rebounds and played a strong defensive game while matched up with North Park star Victoria Perry. Perry finished with a game-high 17 points and team-best six rebounds while playing all but three minutes of the second half.
    Lawrence pulled out to its biggest lead of the first half at 19-7 when Lueck buried a 3-pointer with 58 seconds left in the opening quarter. North Park battled back in the second period and trimmed the margin to 32-25 at the half.
    Crandall started the second half with a 3-pointer, and Lawrence pushed the lead to 12 points four different times in the third quarter. North Park pared the lead back to 49-43 after three quarters, but Lueck opened the fourth with another 3-pointer. 
    North Park chipped away at the advantage and took its first lead at 55-54 on a Aliyah Hershberger 3-pointer with 3:22 remaining. After a turnover, Lawrence got a defensive stop before Crandall was fouled and made both free throws for a 56-55 edge with 2:34 left. 
    After a Brennan steal, she was fouled and converted one free throw for a 57-55 lead. After a Brooke Panush miss, Culver grabbed the rebound. Lawrence found Meyer under the basket, but she missed the contested shot. Meyer grabbed her own rebound and her putback gave Lawrence a 59-55 lead with just 1:36 remaining.
    The teams traded misses before Lueck picked Perry's pocket for her first steal of the game with 37 seconds left. Culver helped seal the win by making three free throws in the final 21 seconds and capped the victory with a steal and layup at the buzzer.
    Lawrence returns to nonconference action on Saturday when it hosts Carthage College.