Waverly, Iowa – The Northwestern College women's basketball team returned to the game floor for the first time following a two-week break Friday evening, dropping a close 56-61 contest to Wartburg College as part of the first round of the Wartburg Holiday Tournament.

The Eagles jumped out to a fast start, showing little signs of rust from Christmas break, as they led 7-0 just 2:14 after tipoff as a result of a pair of Jessica Fife (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) free throws combined with a Courtney Cunard (Missouri Valley, Iowa/Missouri Valley) triple and Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) make. The host Knights began to chip away at the visitor's advantage, but NWC held the advantage for the majority of the half, even extending its lead to double-digits at the 10:25 mark courtesy of successful three-point attempts from Sir and Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove), pushing the score to 21-11.

The home team on the scoreboard would not roll over, however, and began its final run of the first half, outscoring Northwestern 14-3 in the final 5:07. Another down town Eagle make from Madson brought the game within one at 29-30 as both teams headed into the locker room to regroup for the next 20 minutes of play.

The early second half saw multiple lead changes as both teams strived to take ownership of the game, when yet another Northwestern three, this time by Sir, gave the Purple and Gold a 35-32 lead less than two minutes into the period. The flip-flop advantages continued however, and Wartburg extended its lead to 44-38 in the 12^th minute of play, before Kim Campbell (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy), Madson, and the rest of the NWC entourage brought the game back within one at the 11:01 mark.

The final 10 minutes featured similar scoring totals on both ends of the floor, as Northwestern attempted to overcome a 51-60 deficit with just 2:49 left in regulation. The Eagles brought the game within four as the final 18 seconds played out, but the horn sounded in favor of a 61-56 Wartburg victory as time ended.

Sir led all scorers with 19 points after a hot shooting night in which the junior went 5-10 from beyond the arc and 7-14 from the field. Sir was joined in double-digit scoring by Campbell and Madson, who each contributed 11 points of their own. As a group, the Eagles shot 45.8% from triple range, while also making just over 42% of their attempts from the floor, both marks game-highs among the two teams

Even amidst sharp shooting, NWC ran into trouble in rebounds, as Wartburg brought in a total of 43 rebounds, including 20 offensive, in comparison to the visitors' six offensive and 27 overall boards.

After a quick night of rest, Northwestern (4-6) will matchup with Concordia University Chicago at 1 p.m. in the final round of the Wartburg Tournament on Saturday. After a loss to Illinois Wesleyan University on Friday afternoon, the Cougars hold an overall record of 2-8.