Box Score



ST. PAUL – The Northwestern College women's basketball team overcame a scrappy Martin Luther College defense to pick up its second Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) victory in as many tries. The Eagles posted an 11-point halftime lead en route to a 61-51 win over the visiting Knights.

Northwestern put the first four points on the board after Jessica Fife (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) made consecutive baskets to open the contest. The Eagles were the first team to 10 points thanks to a Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) jumper, increasing the home team's advantage to six with 12:58 left in the half.

Both teams exchanged scores until  the 9:32 point, when NWC utilized a 7-2 run to stretch its lead just shy of double digits, 21-12. The Knights began to rally but were unable to cut the margin below seven, allowing the Purple and Gold to eventually increase its lead to 13 points after a pair of Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) three-pointers hit the bottom of the net with 2:37 remaining in the period. The Eagles headed into intermission up 33-22 after a half that saw each team post identical points in the paint (12), points off turnovers (8), and bench point totals (6).

The story line of the second half proved to be quick changes of possession as Martin Luther picked up nine steals and forced 12 Northwestern turnovers. Even amidst the strong defensive play by the Knights, NWC continued to maintain control of the ball game, holding on to at least a nine-point upper hand for the first 10 minutes of the second period. The Eagles' largest lead of the game came at the 11:13 mark as Fife brought in an offensive board and Sir converted it into a triple, pushing the game to 47-33.

The visiting team on the scoreboard refused to roll over, however, and brought the game within two possessions with 8:20 remaining in regulation. Each team traded baskets before a nearly 2:30 scoring drought ended in NWC's favor with a Fife basket later followed by a Courtney Cunard (Missouri Valley, Iowa/Missouri Valley) make, giving the Eagles a double-digit cushion with just under two minutes to play. As time ran out, the host team came away with the 61-51 victory and an unbeaten conference record.
Northwestern (7-6 overall, 2-0 UMAC) was led by Cunard, who tallied 14 points on 6-9 shooting, while Fife also contributed in a big way, rounding up 16 boards and scoring 10 points en route to her second double-double of the week.

Next up for the Eagles is a Saturday afternoon matchup, as the Vikings of Bethany Lutheran College will travel to the Ericksen center for a 3 p.m. tip off. Both live stats and video will be available for Saturday's game.