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UMAC Champions!
Al Schuck

Women's Basketball

Eagles outlast Presentation to claim UMAC Tournament championship

Box Score

ST. PAUL -- The Northwestern College women's basketball team won the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) postseason tournament on Saturday after grinding out a 68-56 win over Presentation College. It is the fifth tournament title for Eagles head coach Linda Shuck after Northwestern last won the season finale in 2008.

The game's final score was hardly reflective of the battle that took place on the Ericksen Center court, as fourth-seeded NWC and Presentation, the No. 6 seed, went back and forth throughout the entire contest. Down 5-7 in the game's early minutes, the Eagles scored nine straight points over the course of four minutes to lead 14-7. The Saints cut Northwestern's advantage to one point rather quickly and took the lead before the home team took the lead again, going into the locker room with a slim 25-22 margin.

Neither team held more than a three-point advantage until the five-minute mark, when Northwestern's Katie DeWitt (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) drained back-to-back free throws to give the Eagles a five-point lead. Megan Myhre (Barnum, Minn./Barnum) (Barnum, Minn./Barnum) followed with a layup, and NWC was on its way to a tournament championship as numerous individuals in purple and gold made their free throws down the stretch.

Northwestern made 42 percent of its 48 attempts, most of which came under the hoop. The Eagles outscored Presentation 30-10 in the paint, which was good for the Eagles as they went just 2-11 from downtown. NWC also held a 41-30 edge in rebounding, prompting the Eagles to 11 second-chance points.

DeWitt posted her third double-double of the tournament and 14th of the season, scoring 27 points to go with 16 rebounds, en route to a Tournament MVP award. In the first half alone, DeWitt's 12 boards were just five less than the entire Presentation team. Allison Johnson (Plymouth, Minn./Heritage Christian) (Greenfield, Minn./Heritage Christian) scored 10 points in the Eagles' win, while Kaelee Kendrick (Eagan, Minn./Bethany Academy) grabbed 10 boards and scored eight points. Myhre made all four of her shots, finishing with eight points.

Chelsey Stanley did her best to keep Presentation in the game, hitting four of her eight shots - all threes - for 12 points. Becky Smith led the Saints with 14 points, while the Eagles held Sara Gregersen to nine points on 3-11 shooting.

Northwestern, now 15-12 overall, shifts its attention to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA). The Eagles' road is not immediately known at this point, but one thing is true - Northwestern will have to go through Bethel College (Ind.) in the north central region championship if it hopes to reach the NCCAA National Tournament in Winona Lake, Ind. Stay tuned to nwceagles.com as details become available.
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