Box Score

WAVERLY, Iowa – Led by balanced scoring and rebounding efforts from numerous players, the Northwestern College women's basketball team bounced back from its Wartburg Holiday Tournament opening round loss to earn a 65-48 victory over Concordia University Chicago Saturday afternoon.

Northwestern led early, as Kim Campbell (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) put the Eagles on the board for the first time just 1:29 after the first whistle. On the defensive end of the floor Campbell picked up a steal, was fouled later on the play, and converted on a free throw to put NWC up 3-0 before the first two minutes played out.

Concordia Chicago responded with a pair of baskets of its own, before the Snelling Avenue team took the lead again when Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) converted on a long-range make. The Cougars would tie the game before Northwestern began to run the momentum of the contest, eventually increasing its lead to nine points with 5:41 remaining on the clock after a repeat three-point attempt by Madson found the bottom of the net. The final five minutes of the half saw Northwestern a 9-3 run, giving the team a 29-16 advantage at intermission.

The Purple and Gold kept the momentum rolling in the first part of the second half, as Jessica Fife (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo), Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood), and Madson all had their hands in increasing the Eagles' margin to 20 at the 16:12 mark. NWC's largest lead of the game was in place after an Ellie Werlein (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge Christian) defensive steal translated into a Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) make from triple region, providing the team with a 51-26 upper hand in the 13^th minute of the second period.

The Cougars showed resiliency and would go on to score the next 19 points, bringing the game within six at both the 4:08 and 2:59 marks of the half. A successful three- point attempt from Campbell gave Northwestern some lead security and was soon followed by a Sir triple that pushed the lead back out to 12, which continued the concluding rally the Eagles needed to secure the victory. As a team, the sharp offensive and defensive efforts in the final minutes held Concordia Chicago scoreless for the final 2:59 of the contest, as NWC headed home with the 65-48 upper hand.

Madson led all scorers with 22 points after going 7-13 from the field and 6-9 from long-range area. Sir was close-behind with 18 points, en route to being named to the six-person All-Tournament team. Also joining their teammates in double-digit scoring were Campbell and Fife, who poured in 11 and 10 points of their own in the contest. Additionally, Fife dished out seven assists, a game-high mark. As a collective group, NWC was successful on 13 of its 27 three-point attempts, a mark of 48.1%. Over the course of the two tournament games, Northwestern made 46.9% of its total triple shots.

The well-rounded efforts of the  Eagles continued to rebounding efforts, where Courtney Cunard (Missouri Valley, Iowa/Missouri Valley) led all players with 11 boards, while Fife brought in 10 of her own en route to her fourth double-double of the season. Sir and Campbell also contributed eight and nine rebounds respectively as the Purple and Gold picked up 10 more total boards than its opponent.

Next up for Northwestern (5-6) is the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) kickoff on Tuesday, January 8, as the Eagles will play host to the Rams of North Central University in the 5:30 p.m. matchup of a doubleheader. The two teams met back on December 11 in a non-conference game that saw NWC come out with a victory. Both live stats and video will be available for the contest.