ST. PAUL – Saturday's 63-54 overtime loss for the University of Northwestern against the University of Minnesota was much more competitive than the final score displayed, but it was the second-seeded Cougars who earned the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference's (UMAC) automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Tournament following an energized back-and-forth battle between the league's top two teams in the league tournament championship. The Eagles, the tournament's top seed who shared the regular season title with Minnesota Morris, overcame an 11-point Cougars lead in the second half, taking a brief lead of their own before the two teams needed five extra minutes to determine a winner.

Things were slow to progress at the game's start with both teams struggling to find the inside of the rim in the opening minutes. Defense was an obvious talking point in each locker room pregame; Morris came out with a physical full-court press while the Eagles protected the paint, which was evidenced by Jacki Smith (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy)'s three blocks in the first five minutes. The Cougars were whistled frequently in the initial 10 minutes, but Morris was able to avoid trouble with Kendra Wycoff and Emily Auch, two of its primary scorers, on the bench with two early fouls thanks to Northwestern turnovers and poor outside shooting. On the other end, UMM was nearly flawless in the turnover category, finishing the first 20 minutes with a mere one mistake.

While the two teams were separated by one possession for most of the half, the Cougars went on a run in the final six minutes as Wycoff and Tori Holt made jumpers in traffic to give their team a 22-14 edge. Within three minutes, UNW had the margin down thanks to a 7-0 run before Morris' Kayla Kraemer made a 10-footer to put the halftime difference at 26-23 in the Cougars' favor.

The Eagles' first downtowner of the game came with 1:36 left in the half as the team's leading scorer, Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove), hadn't yet made a basket. Regan Cooper (Pella, Iowa/Pella) kept things in motion under the hoop for UNW as the transfer was 5-7 shooting with 10 first period points and six rebounds, with Smith adding nine boards at the same time.

Instead of getting better, things got worse for Northwestern coming out of the halftime break as Morris forced turnovers and made fast break points on the other end to lead 31-25. UNW head coach Aaron Kahl called his first timeout of the period at the 15-minute mark with his team trailing by eight, but the Cougars run continued to their largest lead of the night at 36-25. Madson answered with her first make of the night, a three-pointer, on the other side, but the Eagles followed with their 14th turnover of the game as the deficit again jumped to 11 with 12 minutes to play in regulation.

Northwestern slowly started a rally, finding itself down by seven points at 10:00, but neither team could seemingly make a basket on either end of the court for long lengths of time. Jackie Foster (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City) made a layup that got the Eagles within five at 39-34, and the Ericksen Center crowd joined the passion on the court. After a miss on Morris' end, Tiffany Stubbs (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) hit a three-pointer before Cooper's and-one layup evened the score at 41-41 and eventually gave UNW a one-point lead on the ensuing free throw. The and-ones continued with Kim Campbell (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) converting on her own opportunity and Northwestern was suddenly in control, 46-41, as the clock was about to slip under four minutes. Meanwhile, the Cougars had gone cold with only one field goal in the last nine minutes. Wycoff picked up her fourth foul at the four-minute mark, but picked up steam with her shooting at the same time. Her three-pointer with 3:34 to go jump-started the Morris team as the Cougars senior traded long-distance makes with Stubbs.

Another Wycoff trey evened Minnesota Morris with UNW at 49-49, and a pair of Emily Auch free throws gave the Cougars a 51-49 lead with exactly one minute to play in regulation. Northwestern had one final opportunity to either tie or make a go-ahead basket, and Stubbs converted on a give-and-go opportunity to tie it at 51-51. Morris got a good look on the other side, but Cori Becker's three pointer was off, sending the game to overtime.

The five-minute overtime period didn't fare well for the Eagles, who didn't score in the first four minutes of extra time, thanks in part to even more turnovers. Morris, meanwhile, made the necessary baskets, forcing Northwestern to foul as the end result was becoming more and more clear before the horn sounded with the Cougars winning by nine.

UNW finished with a better overall shooting rate, making 20 of 56 attempts (35.7 percent), but the Eagles only went 4-21 from behind the arc. Northwestern's 54 rebounds were 11 better than the Cougars, but UNW's 23 turnovers were far more than the five that Morris finished with. Cooper's double-double of 19 points and 15 points was the junior's second of the week, while Smith's 21 boards tied a program record. For Morris (16-11), Auch led all scorers with 21 points, grabbing 12 rebounds for a double-double of her own that ultimately gave tournament most valuable player honors to the Cougars senior.

Despite not earning an NCAA Division III bid, Northwestern, whose record falls to 17-10 with the loss, remains eligible for National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) postseason play. More details about what that scenario looks like will be clearer next week. Stay tuned to unweagles.com for notes as they become available.