Box Score

ST. PAUL -- The Northwestern College women's basketball team walked away from its weekend home-opening tournament undefeated after beating Finlandia University 79-70 in the NWC Tip-Off Tournament.

The Eagles battled the Lions back and forth as the lead was kept within a mere three points for the initial ten minutes of the first half before Katie DeWitt (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) capped off a 9-0 run at the nine-minute mark making the score 24-15.  Northwestern headed into the locker room with a 43-36 lead at halftime.

NWC's lead squandered as Finlandia tied the game at 43-43 in less than 90 seconds to start the second period.  The Eagles found another burst as Ashley Filipi (Fertile, Minn./Ada-Bourp) (Fertile, Minn./Ada-Borup) netted a three-pointer, capping of a 14-2 run with four minutes to play, ultimately sealing the victory

Northwestern won the battle on the boards besting the Lions 46-40.  NWC also did well at the charity stripe, making 73.3 percent of their free throws compared to Finlandia's 59.3 percent.

DeWitt, who was named the tournament's MVP, led the Eagles on the night, tallying 26 points and seven rebounds.  Ariel Liesch (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial), who joined DeWitt on the all-tournament team, delivered 15 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.  Allison Johnson (Plymouth, Minn./Heritage Christian) (Greenfield, Minn./Heritage Christian) and Kaelee Kendrick (Eagan, Minn./Bethany Academy) (Eagan, Minn./Bethany Academy) added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Jodi Riutta led the Lions with 26 points and seven rebounds.  Riutta and the Finlandia offense was also assisted by Ally Tincknell, who tallied 16 points and 13 rebounds.  Following the loss, the Lions fall to 1-2 on the season.

The Eagles will attempt to further their current two game winning streak on Tuesday, Nov. 24, when they host Wisconsin-Stout at 5:30 p.m. in the Ericksen Center.