Box Score

NEW ULM, Minn. -- The Northwestern College women's basketball team can now focus on its UMAC Tournament semifinal game on Wednesday after earning a 67-59 victory over Martin Luther College.  The Eagles led 31-30 at halftime before extending the margin to double digits in Saturday's second half.

After Emily Boldt gave Martin Luther the first two points of the game, Northwestern took off to score nine straight to lead 9-2 with three minutes having yet to tick off the clock.  The Knights came back to cut the lead to two points twice before Allison Johnson (Plymouth, Minn./Heritage Christian) (Plymouth, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) and Emily Henslin (Dodge Center, Minn./Triton) (Dodge Center, Minn./Triton) sparked an Eagles run that increased the lead to 23-15.  Martin Luther made another run to lead by one on Sarah Free's three-pointer before NWC's Katie DeWitt (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) hit a jumper with 20 seconds remaining in the first half to send Northwestern into the locker room with a 31-30 halftime advantage.

The Eagles took control of the second half early, racing out to a seven-point lead within two minutes after DeWitt turned a defensive rebound into a layup on the other side of the court.  The lead progressively turned into double digits before maxing out at 13 when Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) drained a three to make the score 55-42 with 9:57 to go.  Five minutes later, the Knights had managed to cut the margin to single digits, but the home team failed to get any closer than six points as Northwestern left the building with a 67-59 win.

Northwestern nearly made half of its attempts, going 23-48 from the field while Martin Luther struggled at 38 percent shooting (23-61).  The Eagles thrived under the hoop, outscoring their opponents 36-22 in the paint.

Johnson finished 6-7 from the floor for a career high 18 points to lead Northwestern.  The senior grabbed seven rebounds while going 6-8 from the free throw line.  Megan Myhre (Barnum, Minn./Barnum) (Barnum, Minn./Barnum) added 14 points on 4-8 shooting, while DeWitt posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Free had a team-best 17 points for Martin Luther (10-14, 7-7 UMAC), followed by 16 points from Erica Babinec.

Northwestern finishes its regular season with a 15-10 mark, going 11-3 in UMAC contests.  The Eagles, who solidified the No. 2 seed in the UMAC Postseason Tournament last weekend, will return home to prepare for their semifinal game against Northland College, the tournament's third seed.  That game will take place in familiar territory, as Northwestern will welcome the LumberJills to the Ericksen Center for a 5:30 p.m. matchup.