APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University women's basketball team pulled away early in the fourth quarter Saturday and went on to a 54-48 Midwest Conference victory over Grinnell College at Alexander Gymnasium.
    Charlotte Brennan led Lawrence and all scorers with 13 points, and Mallory Meyer added 12 points for the Vikings (5-2, 2-0 MWC).
    Lawrence went on a 10-1 run early in the fourth quarter, and the Vikings hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
    The game was tied at 34-34 when Brennan buried a 3-pointer with just under eight minutes remaining to put the Vikings up 37-34. After a Grinnell turnover, Sophie Morey's putback gave the Vikings a 39-34 advantage. 
    The teams traded misses, and Tanner Bost came up with a steal for the Vikings that turned into a Brennan layup. The Pioneers got a free throw to break up the run, but Caroline Sharpe hit a 3-pointer to put the Vikings up 44-35 with 4:43 remaining. 
    Grinnell (7-3, 1-1) whittled the lead down to 46-42 with a minute remaining, but the Pioneers were forced to foul. Brennan hit a pair of free throws, and Maggie Culver grabbed a rebound off the ensuing Grinnell missed 3-pointer. Culver hit both free throws with 37 seconds left for a 50-42 lead. 
    After a putback by Sara Booher cut the lead to 50-44, the Vikings hit four consecutive free throws in the final 25 seconds to put the game away. Lawrence went 16-for-22 from the foul line for the game.
    While the Vikings struggled shooting the ball at just 29.3 percent from the floor, the Vikings forced 28 Grinnell turnovers. Brennan and Meyer both had five steals, and Morey picked up three. Morey also led the Vikings with eight rebounds. 
    Nikki Ware led Grinnell with 12 points, and the Vikings held Booher, who was averaging a double-double, to four points and seven rebounds. 
    Grinnell led by as many as seven points in the opening half, but Lawrence went on a 7-2 to finish the half and cut the advantage to 22-20 at the break.