Liesch goes off in 68-50 win over Presentation

Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. (Jan. 24, 2009) – Northwestern College pushed its winning streak to five on Friday after defeating Presentation College 68-50. The Eagles used a 49 percent shooting performance and 25 points from Ariel Liesch (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) to coast to the 18-point win.

After Presentation jumped out to a seven-point lead early in the game, Northwestern rallied to tie the score at 11-11 with 11 minutes to play in the first half. Six minutes later, the teams were still deadlocked at 20 points apiece before Northwestern went on a 16-0 run to close out the period, leading 36-20 at the break. The Eagles' lead increased to 20 points before the Saints were able to make their first basket in over 10 minutes, paving the way for the 68-50 final in Northwestern's favor.

In addition to shooting over 20 percent better than their opponents in the game, the Eagles also posted a 49-32 advantage in rebounds.

Liesch barely missed any of her shot attempts - especially from downtown, where she went 5 of 6 on the night. The junior also added five rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes. Katie DeWitt (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) added a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds in the win, while Kaelee Kendrick (Eagan, Minn./Bethany Academy) (Eagan, Minn./Bethany Academy) scored eight points to go with 10 boards. DeWitt was three assists away from a triple-double, as the sophomore dished out seven passes that led to scoring in the game.

Sara Gregersen scored 13 points to lead Presentation, who fell to 3-13 overall and 1-5 in conference play following the loss. Northwestern, who has yet to lose in the month of January, improves to 7-10 overall and 5-1 in the UMAC.

Current UMAC leader University of Minnesota, Morris, who has yet to lose a conference game this season, will await NWC on Saturday, when the two will face off in a 3 p.m. affair in Morris.

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