Box Score
ASHLAND, Wis. (March 1, 2009) – The Northwestern College women's basketball team's five-game winning streak came to a halt on Sunday, as the Northland College Lumberjills won the UMAC tournament championship game 57-45. The Eagles earned the right to play in a rare Sunday matinee versus UMAC regular season champion Northland after defeating second seed Minnesota, Morris on Friday. Unfortunately for NWC, Sunday's results didn't yield another victory, and the Eagles will look forward to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) regional tournament next weekend.
Northland opened up an 8-0 lead after holding NWC scoreless for the game's first nine minutes. The Eagles stormed back, taking the lead at 14-13 on a jumper from Anna Weddig (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) (Merrill, Wis./Merrill). After several back-and-forth baskets, Northland led 25-24 at halftime.
The beginning of the second half spelled disaster for the Eagles, as Northland went on a 23-6 run in the first ten minutes, holding a 48-30 lead. NWC cut the Lumberjills' lead to single digits late in the game, but Northland prevailed, extending their regular season conference championship to the UMAC tournament.
Defense proved to be the name of the game, as neither team had a great shooting performance. Northwestern made 19 of its 54 shots (35.2 percent), while Northland barely bested the Eagles with a 37.7 completion percentage. All of the other statistical categories were very close including rebounding, turnovers and blocks.
Katie DeWitt (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) was the only NWC player in double digits, recording a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Weddig contributed nine points in 15 minutes, but no one else in an Eagles uniform was able to get over six points in the game.
Lindsey Hamm and Chelsea Lundgren had 19 and 17 points to lead Northland (19-8, 12-2 UMAC).
Northwestern (15-13, 11-3 UMAC) returns home as the team awaits instruction on where to go for the NCCAA region tournament, which is to take place on Friday and Saturday. The Eagles will most-likely travel to suburban Chicago, Ill., where teams such as Trinity International University and Judson University will be in the mix. Stay tuned to nwceagles.com for more information as it becomes available.
