Eagles find win column in 51-38 victory over Martin Luther

Box Score

ST. PAUL (Jan. 9, 2009) – After a four game skid, the Northwestern College women's basketball team started 2009 on the right foot, defeating UMAC opponent Martin Luther College 51-38 on Friday night. The Eagles held a strong 32-10 lead at halftime before claiming the 13-point win, holding the Knights to a 13.3 shooting percentage in the initial 20 minutes. Northwestern held a strong presence in the paint, as was evidenced by a 28-16 advantage in points under the hoop.

After a 2-2 tie, Northwestern went on a 9-0 run to spark their big first half. After 10 minutes had ticked off the clock, Northwestern held a 19-6 lead after Anna Weddig (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) drained a two-point basket. Five minutes later, back-to-back three-point baskets by Katie DeWitt (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) and Ashley Filipi (Fertile, Minn./Ada-Bourp) (Fertile, Minn./Ada-Borup) gave the Eagles a 27-8 edge before another three from Marcy Nelson (Sandstone, Minn./East Central) (Sandstone, Minn./East Central) capped off a 32-10 first half.

Martin Luther cut into NWC's one-time 22 point lead, but was unable to get any closer than the 51-38 final.

DeWitt posted a double-double for Northwestern, scoring 19 points to go with 10 rebounds. Ariel Liesch (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) added nine points, four assists and four steals in the win to bump the Eagles to 3-10 overall and 2-1 in UMAC play.

Erica Babinec scored a team-high 12 points for Martin Luther (3-8 overall, 1-2 UMAC) to go with nine rebounds, while Nicole Lehman had 10 boards.

Northwestern will hope to carry its momentum over into Saturday, when it hosts Bethany Lutheran College in a 3 p.m. matinee in the Ericksen Center.

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