APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University women's basketball team started slow, but the Vikings pulled away early in the second half and cruised to a 70-56 nonconference win over Finlandia University Friday night at Alexander Gymnasium.
Caresse Reiland scored 14 points and pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds to pace Lawrence (3-3). Margaret Rhatican scored a career-high 14 points, and Carrie Van Groll had 14 points for the Vikings. Rhatican, starting in place of senior guard Jenny Stoner, added seven assists, six steals, and three rebounds.
Ally Tincknell scored 16 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for Finlandia (2-5) before fouling out. Jodi Riutta had 16 points and Casey Luke added 14 points for the Lions.
Finlandia got off to a fast start and led 16-8 with 13:34 left in the first half. Riutta's layup with 8:20 left gave the Lions a 22-15 lead, but Lawrence went on an 11-2 run to grab the lead. Van Groll and Rhatican both had four points in that stretch, as Lawrence led 26-24 with 2:03 left in the opening half.
The Vikings would not trail again and led 32-28 at the half. The Vikings then opened the second half with a 9-0 outburst. Van Groll had two steals and layups and scored five of Lawrence's nine points in that stretch, which gave Lawrence a 41-28 advantage.
Finlandia trimmed the lead back to nine points, but the Vikings steadily pulled away and led by as many as 19 points.
Lawrence returns to action on Saturday when it travels to No. 20 UW-Stevens Point.