Box Score Box Score

ST. PAUL -- A day after earning its first win of the 2011 season, Northwestern College struggled to find a rhythm against Buena Vista University on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Beavers 63-43 in the ACR Homes Tip-Off Tournament finale. The Eagles, who shot just 28.6 percent from the floor, will look ahead to their next contest on Tuesday, Nov. 22.

Buena Vista came out with both a strong offense and defense. While the Beavers' offense was building leads of six and eight in the early goings, its defense was forcing turnovers with its full court pressure at the same time.  Before 10 minutes had ticked off the clock, Buena Vista owned a 14-4 lead.  After NWC's Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) briefly stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer, the Beavers went back to work with their advantage ballooning to 15 on a three by Laura Hilby with 6:37 to go in the first half.  Sir hit two more shots from downtown before the halftime buzzer went off, but Buena Vista still owned a 32-19 margin at the break.

Sir and Kristin Sczublewski (Pierz, Minn./Pierz) were the only Eagles to score points in the first half, while Northwestern's turnover numbers nearly matched their points on the scoreboard.  More Northwestern players scored in the second period, but Buena Vista's lead grew beyond 20 points on a Susan Kies layup at the 12:17 mark. Sir hit her fifth trey of the game on NWC's next possession, but the Eagles were never able to get closer than 18 in the 63-43 final.

NWC made just 12 of its 42 attempts on the night, with eight of the Eagles made baskets coming from behind the three-point arc.  Sczublewski earned all-tournament team honors with a game-leading 18 points, while Sir earned the same honor behind 15 points and five rebounds.  In all, Buena Vista forced NWC into 32 turnovers while the Eagles were able to dish out just nine assists in the game.

Tournament MVP Jessica Christensen scored 17 points for Buena Vista, adding nine rebounds to her game's resume.  The Beavers will return to Storm Lake, Iowa with a 2-1 record in its opening week.

At 1-2, Northwestern will briefly return to the drawing board before hosting Macalester College on Tuesday in the Ericksen Center at 5:30 p.m.