Eagles to face off against Northland in UMAC tournament championship

Box Score

MORRIS, Minn. (Feb. 27, 2009) – The Northwestern College women's basketball team advanced to the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) tournament championship game with a 73-59 win over second-seeded University of Minnesota, Morris on Friday night. Northwestern, who entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed, will try to repeat its title from a year ago and claim the program's sixth UMAC tournament championship on Sunday versus top-seeded Northland.

After leading by a point midway through the first half, the Eagles' Katie DeWitt (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) went on an 8-0 run, extending NWC's lead to nine points. Morris slightly cut into the Eagles' lead, but NWC finished the initial period with a 38-31 advantage. Northwestern pushed its lead to as much as 19 points at the 10:39 mark in the second half before coasting to a 73-59 win on a court where the Eagles lost on Jan. 24.

DeWitt finished with 25 points to lead Northwestern, who shot an even 50 percent from the field. Ariel Liesch (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) added 13 points in the win, while both DeWitt and Liesch tallied five assists. Luanne Mullet (Lustre, Mont./Lustre Christian) (Lustre, Mont./Lustre Christian) chipped in four assists as well.

Morris (14-12 overall, 11-3 UMAC) struggled offensively all night, which was evidenced by the Cougars' 35.6 shooting percentage. Coresa Leighty led UMM with 21 points.

NWC (15-12 overall, 11-3 UMAC) will travel to Ashland, Wis. to face Northland in a rare Sunday game for the tournament championship. Northland, who claimed the UMAC crown, won both contests against Northwestern during the regular season, but the Eagles will be looking to overturn those results. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.

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