Box Score

ST. PAUL (Feb. 23, 2008) – The Northwestern College women's basketball team added the icing on the cake to their regular season Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) championship on Saturday, defeating No. 2 Northland 67-48 in the conference tournament championship game.

 

Northland, who was picked by the UMAC coaches to win the conference before the season began, started the game like they meant business, jumping out to a 9-2 lead in the first five minutes. Northwestern climbed back into contention though, taking a 16-15 lead at the 6:19 mark in the first half. By halftime, the Eagles had built their lead to six, going into the locker room with a 30-24 advantage.

 

As NWC's Ariel Liesch (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) got hot, so too did the Eagles, as the lead improved to 10 after a made 3-pointer by the sophomore. Northwestern's lead peaked with 1:30 left in the game when they led by 24 before finishing the game with a definitive 67-48 victory.

 

After starting out somewhat shaky, the Eagles made over half of their attempts in the second half to level off at 45.8 percent for the game. On the other hand, Northland struggled all day, making 18 of their 60 attempts for 30 percent.

 

After being held to two points on Friday, Liesch came back with 21 points in Saturday's affair, grabbing five rebounds in the process. Kelly Zuleger (Cresco, IA/Crestwood High School) (Creco, Iowa/Crestwood) scored 12 points in the win, while fellow senior Katie Tuseth (White Bear Lake, MN/White Bear Lake High School) (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake) chipped in 11. Tuseth also tallied 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the year.

 

Zuleger was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player following her perfect 6-for-6 performance on Friday, followed by her 12 points on Saturday.

 

Chelsea Lundgren led Northland (16-11, 10-4 UMAC) with 11 points, while Laura Fisher added 10.

 

The weekend championship win was the fifth all-time for Northwestern, who entered the tournament as the top seed after their regular season championship. The Eagles last won the conference tournament in 2005.

 

NWC (15-12, 11-3 UMAC) has now won nine consecutive games, one shy of tying the school's all-time record. The Eagles' season will continue in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) region tournament, in which their opponent or game date has yet to be announced. However, Northwestern would most likely face Greenville College in the first week of March.