Box Score Box Score

ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. -- A big first half for Northwestern College paved the way for an even bigger scoring margin in the second half before the Eagles more than doubled-up Crown College in a 74-32 final to begin both teams' Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) schedules. Everyone dressed in a Northwestern jersey saw the court as the Eagles outscored the Storm 26-4 in the paint.

A Tiffany Smith three-point shots gave Crown its only lead of the game at 3-2 and from then on, it was all NWC. The Eagles had built up a 10-point lead before nine minutes had ticked off the clock as Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) made one of her seven baskets. The Storm cut the NWC advantage to 21-14 before the Eagles finished the first half on a 13-4 run, with the scoreboard reading 34-19.

The 15-point Northwestern lead quickly spiraled out of control for Crown, as jumpers from Madson, Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) and Kristin Sczublewski (Pierz, Minn./Pierz) boosted the Eagles' lead to 25 with 16:53 to play. NWC's shooting success continued as the buffer continued to rise. A three-pointer from Sir crossed the 30-point threshold in terms of scoring margin before Northwestern ran the Storm out of their own gym in a 74-32 final score.

NWC made 29 of its 68 attempts from the field, finishing the game with a 42.6 percent shooting rate. Northwestern dished out 15 assists while forcing Crown into 26 turnovers, which was evidenced by the Eagles' 30-8 advantage in points off of turnovers.

Madson was the game's high scorer with 19 points on 7-13 shooting. Sir made seven baskets herself to finish with 16 points, while Sczublewski chipped in 10 points. Jessica Fife (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) was all over on the boards, collecting 13 rebounds, six of which were on the offensive side of the ball. Jacki Smith (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) grabbed eight rebounds to go with six points in 17 minutes of court time.

Tiffany Smith scored 11 points to lead Crown, who shot 21.3 percent as a team. The game's longevity certainly took a toll on the Storm, as four of its five starters played all 40 minutes and Smith, the fifth starter, registering 39 minutes.

While starting its conference schedule with a victory, Northwestern improved to 4-8 overall in 2011-2012. The Eagles will return to practice on Wednesday and Thursday before hosting back-to-back games this weekend on Friday and Saturday. NWC will face the University of Minnesota Morris at 5:30 on Friday, followed by a 3 p.m. Hoops Hysteria tip-off on Saturday afternoon.