The Vikings are the fourth seed in the four-team tournament, set for this weekend at St. Norbert College. Second-seeded Lake Forest College takes on No. 3 seed Ripon College in the first semifinal at 5:00 p.m. Lawrence faces top seed St. Norbert at 7:00 p.m. The winners meet at 2:00 p.m. Saturday for the conference championship and an automatic NCAA Division III Tournament bid.
Even though St. Norbert finished first in the regular-season standings, all that got the Green Knights was the right to host the tournament. It's the winner of the tournament that is the conference champion, getting the NCAA bid as a bonus.
Lawrence (13-10, 10-6 MWC) will take on St. Norbert for the second time in six days on Friday. St. Norbert is the only team in the conference to have beaten the Vikings twice this season, and the Green Knights made it look easy. St. Norbert handed Lawrence a 69-48 setback last Saturday and beat the Vikings 61-45 back on Jan. 14 at Alexander Gymnasium.
It was that loss to the Green Knights in January that sparked Lawrence. Following that defeat, Lawrence went 10-3 to finish the regular season.
The Vikings have knocked off both of the other tournament participants. Lawrence split its games with Ripon, losing 79-56 at Ripon and beating the Red Hawks 67-66 in Appleton. It was the same with Lake Forest. The Vikings downed the Foresters 62-61 in Appleton and lost 67-54 at Lake Forest.
Freshman guard Claire Getzoff (Evanston, Ill./Evanston) has been a spark for the Vikings all season. Getzoff is averaging a team-high 16.6 points per game while shooting 42.2 percent from the floor, including 35.9 percent on 3-pointers.
Getzoff broke Lawrence's single-season scoring record, and she currently stands at 381 points on the year. She broke the mark of 359, set in 1986-87 by Lawrence Hall of Famer Tracie Spangenberg.
Getzoff has also shown a flair for the dramatic. She hit buzzer-beating 3-pointers for wins against Lake Forest and at Illinois College. She also scored two key baskets that gave Lawrence a late-season win at Carroll College.
She is flanked on the wing by sophomore forward Felice Porrata (Glenview, Ill./New Trier). The lone freshman named to all-conference team last season, Porrata is averaging 11.6 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game this season.
Balance has been a key for the Vikings under coach Amy Proctor, and Lawrence tends to get big performances from different players on different nights. Sophomore forward Jenny Jetel (Hoffman Estates, Ill./William Fremd), sophomore guard Carla Zarecki (Stevens Point/SPASH), and freshman guard Becca Reason (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) are all capable of big games.
St. Norbert (19-4, 15-1) is on a 15-game winning streak and is hosting the tournament for the second time in four years. However, the Green Knights haven't won the conference title since 1989 and are looking to avoid a first-round exit from the tournament for a sixth consecutive time.
The Green Knights have received balanced outputs throughout the season, with nine different players leading the team for high points in a game. Senior guard Stacy Ritter leads the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game, posting a season-high 25 points in a 95-83 win at Illinois College. Senior forward Susan Schramka is second in scoring at 9.5 points per game and is tops in rebounding at 5.4 boards per contest. Junior guard Kelly Krombach is averaging 8.3 points per game and is making 51.4 percent of her 3-pointers this season.
Lake Forest (21-2, 14-2) has the best overall record of any team in the tournament and its two losses (in overtime at St. Norbert and at Lawrence) have been by a total of 10 points. Since losing at Lawrence, the Foresters are on a seven-game winning streak.
Former Menasha High School star Katie McCants leads the Foresters in scoring at 13.1 points per game and in rebounding at 7.5 per contest. She is flanked by sophomore forward Shannon Clerkin, who is at 12.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
The Foresters are smarting from the loss of sophomore guard Kandyce Green, who was lost for the season after injuring her knee in January.
Ripon (19-4, 13-3) looked like it would host the tournament before losing two of its final six games. The Red Hawks put together an 11-game winning streak during the season, which was snapped at Lake Forest in late January.
Ripon is led by senior guard Karin Kedrowski, who is averaging 14.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. Former Appleton East High School standout Molly Kneip is tops on the glass for Ripon, pulling down 6.1 rebounds per game to go with her 9.8 points per contest.