NEW ULM - After Thursday's nonconference loss to UW-River Falls, Martin Luther College sophomore Sarah Free admitted that her squad probably wouldn't be seeing as many teams as talented as the Falcons in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
The Falcons were able to dominate the game, especially from 3-point range, and they went on to win the nonconference game 82-53.
Free led the Knights (0-2) for the second straight game in scoring as she scored 15.
"We just need more intensity," Free said. "We kept up for a while, but after a while I think we were tired and we couldn't keep rotating over."
The Falcons hit 9-of-20 from beyond the arc. Free said it was tough for the Knights to get out and defend the perimeter because of fatigue.
"We were tired," she said. "They were way more athletic and they could out-run us more. In our Buena Vista game [Tuesday], we played more of a man [defense] and today we played 3-2, and I don't think people knew where they were supposed to be and I think that also played into it."
Laureen Pellowski led the Falcons with 16 points and Tiffany Gregorich scored 13. Brittany Gregorich was the third member in double figures with 12 points.
For the Knights, Emily Boldt had eight points and six rebounds and Carrie Fritzler and Katie Kogler had six points.
The Falcons took an 18-8 lead midway through the first half and never looked back after that. River Falls shot 45 percent from the field in the first half compared to 38 percent for the Knights and the Knights trailed 39-25 at halftime.
In the second half, the Knights trimmed the lead down to 10 at 48-38 after Fritzler hit a jumper, but that rally was short-lived.
"We came out at half and we were ready to play," Free said. "Inside, we just kept working it back in and out, and that opened some things up and I think that's what helped us."
The Falcons soon found themselves up 57-40 with less than 10 minutes to go and they cruised the rest of the way.
MLC plays in the Grinnell Tournament today against Bemidji State.
UW-River Falls39 43 - 82
MLC25 28 - 53
UW-River Falls (82)
Dohrn 2-4 0-3 4; Holst 2-12 0-0 4; T. Gregorich 4-6 2-2 13; Hanson 2-6 2-3 7; Hilt 1-5 0-0 2; Theisen 2-4 0-0 6; B. Gregorich 5-9 1-2 12; Lardie 1-3 0-0 2; House 3-6 0-0 6; Pellowski 6-9 2-2 16; Guhr 2-4 0-0 4; Olson 1-2 0-0 2; Carmody 2-4 0-0 4; Gillund 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 33-74 7-12 82. Rebounds 44 (Dohrn 10). Assists 24 (B. Gregorich 7). Steals 14 (Holst, Theisen 3).
MLC (53)
Selle 0-1 2-4 3; Boldt 3-6 2-2 8; Fritzler 3-7 0-0 6; Free 6-11 1-2 15; Babinec 2-13 2-2 7; Drake 1-1 0-0 2; Scharf 1-1 1-2 3; Gardner 0-1 0-0 0; Kogler 3-8 0-0 6; Fuerstenberg 0-3 0-0 6; Pederson 1-4 2-2 4. Totals 20-56 10-14 53. Rebounds 38 (Fritzler 8). Assists 11 (Babinec 3). Steals 7 (Fritzler 4).
