Box Score

ST. PAUL -- Katie DeWitt (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial)'s (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) three-point shot at the buzzer in regulation eventually found the bottom of the net before a pair of free throws by Tanya Dickey (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake) (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake) sealed an 81-80 overtime victory for Northwestern College over the University of Wisconsin-Superior. The Eagles, who led by 15 midway through the second half, had their highest-scoring game to date while shooting 47 percent from the field.

Superior established an early lead that reached eight points in the first half. Connie Urmanski got hot from long range, giving the Yellow Jackets an 18-11 advantage before a jumper by Haily Hart extended the lead to eight with 10:30 to play in the period. Northwestern battled back, cutting the lead to four after a DeWitt field goal before the senior drained consecutive free throws to tie the game at 33-33. The Purple and Gold found a rhythm after that, taking a two-point lead into halftime after a layup from Megan Myhre (Barnum, Minn./Barnum) (Barnum, Minn./Barnum) broke a 37-37 stalemate.

Northwestern's edge reached six on back-to-back threes from DeWitt and Dickey before Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood)'s (Creco, Iowa/Crestwood) shot from 10 feet out gave the Eagles their first double-digit lead of the night. Allison Johnson (Plymouth, Minn./Heritage Christian)'s (Greenfield, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) layup at the 10:26 mark gave NWC its biggest advantage of the night before Umanski and Hart started to catch fire once again. Within five minutes, the Eagles' lead was cut to four before Superior's Bri Davis hit a shot in the paint to tie the game for the sixth time with 3:42 left in regulation. Umanski hit two big shots at the charity stripe to give her team a 77-74 lead with 13 seconds to go before DeWitt's game-tying attempt from downtown hit three times off of the rim before going to force overtime.

DeWitt started right where she left off in the extra period, making a layup before the Yellow Jackets' Kelsey Thingvold evened the score at 79-79. Dickey made the most of the double bonus, converting both of her attempts with 1:07 to play which would eventually pay off, as Kailee McDonald went 1-2 at the line 20 seconds later and allowed the Eagles' lead to stay.

While Northwestern played well all game, the Eagles really stepped it up in the second half, shooting nearly 54 percent from the field while going 5-9 from behind the three-point line. Turnovers remained an issue -- especially in the first half -- but head coach Aaron Kahl's team made up for it with 25 assists.

As NWC recorded its second straight victory, DeWitt had no problem earning her second consecutive double-double with 28 points and 15 rebounds while dishing out seven assists. Dickey had her best game while wearing an Eagles uniform, going 6-11 overall and 5-7 from long range to finish with 19 points and four assists. Myhre also turned in a strong performance with 17 points and eight rebounds on 8-12 shooting.

Urmanski finished with 26 points for Superior, thanks much in part to five three-pointers. Hart posted 13 offensive rebounds en route to a 21-point, 17-rebound finish.

With the victory, NWC heads into an elongated break with a 3-6 record while UW-Superior slips below .500 at 3-4. The Eagles won't play again until after Christmas on December 29, giving Northwestern's injured players a chance to heal while providing some quality practice time. Kahl will bring his team back after December 25 to prepare for a two-day tournament at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa on Dec. 29-30.