Box Score

LA CROSSE, Wis. -- The Northwestern College men's team didn't have much more success than the Eagle women's squad in the same gym, as NWC lost to UW-La Crosse 68-61 on Monday night in Mitchell Hall. The Northwestern women's team didn't have any better luck, losing consecutive games on Saturday and Sunday on the La Crosse Eagles' home court.

While the Northwestern played its normal style of defense, holding teams to a smaller point total, the turnovers started to amass for the Eagles, as they posted 15 mistakes compared to just 11 assists on the night. As a team, Northwestern finished 26-65 from the field (40 percent), with Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) being the only player wearing purple and gold to score in double figures.

UW-La Crosse established a lead almost immediately, going up 9-4 in the first five minutes before leading by as much as 14 in the first half. The home team's advantage ballooned up to 23 points midway through the second half before Northwestern made a late push that ran out of time. After La Crosse led 68-47 with 3:31 to play, NWC scored the next 14 points until the clock expired with a 68-61 final score.

Chitwood finished 7-15 for 15 points for the Eagles, while Gabe Jefferson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) (Lincoln, Neb./Southeast) finished with 11 rebounds, four of which were on offense. Lance Westberg (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) nailed a trio of three-point shots in the game's final six minutes to finish with nine points overall.  

Tony Mane led La Crosse with 22 points on 9-13 shooting.

Falling to 3-2 overall on the season, Northwestern will regroup after a 1-1 road swing before hosting Finlandia University in the Ericksen Center on Friday, Dec. 3.  The Eagles and Lions are scheduled to square off at 7:30 p.m.