NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team opened the season with a 75-44 loss to Carleton College on Friday.

Carleton came out firing to open the game, scoring 27 points in the first quarter to take an 11-point lead. It would then build on that momentum in the second quarter, holding MLC to scoreless until the 2:26 mark of the quarter on the way to taking a 52-26 halftime lead.

MLC was able to slow down the Carleton offense in the second half, but couldn't get enough going offensively to get back into the game.

Offensively, MLC committed 27 turnovers and also went 0-16 from beyond the three-point arc. Carleton finished the game shooting 36.8 percent from the field.

Emily Witkowski led MLC with 15 points despite playing through foul trouble in the first half. Ruth Buchholz joined her in double figures with 10 points to go with a game-high eight rebounds. Cassandra Anklam led all players with three blocks.

MLC fell to 0-1 on the season in defeat. Carleton improved to 1-0 with the win.

MLC will return to action on Friday, November 16, when it plays Bethel University at Gustavus Adolphus College. That game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.