Box Score
MORRIS, Minn. – Northwestern College didn't have a terrible shooting night on Friday, but the Eagles ran into a huge performance by the University of Minnesota Morris' Emily Mehr, who poured in 33 points on 13 of 18 shooting in a 76-48 win for the Cougars in a battle of Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) unbeatens. NWC was only able to score 17 first half points and faced a 28-point deficit at the midway point of the game.
Northwestern hung with Morris for the first few minutes in what was looking to be a high scoring affair with both teams combining for 12 points in the first 90 seconds of the game. The home team quickly ran off on its own though, turning a 7-5 lead into a 19-10 edge in a span of four minutes. The bleeding really began to flow for the Eagles shortly thereafter when the Cougars went on a 20-0 run, holding a 36-10 margin with 4:19 left in the initial period. While NWC committed five turnovers in the spree, UMM also helped its cause with a trio of three-point field goals.
Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) was finally able to end the Eagles drought with a three-pointer of her own, but the large gap had certainly been established when the two teams went into the locker room with Morris leading 45-17.
The Eagles matched UMM basket-for-basket in the second half, but the same 28-point buffer that separated the squads remained at the final buzzer.
Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) had 10 of her 17 points for the game in the second half with three treys, including Northwestern's first points of the period at the 18:40 mark. NWC cut the Morris lead to 23 on a few different occasions throughout that half before the game finished with the Cougars on top 76-48.
Northwestern made 40 percent of its 45 baskets, but the Cougars got 14 more shots off, due much in part to the Eagles' 27 turnovers in the game. Besides Madson, no other NWC player finished in double figures, with Sir coming closest at eight points to add to a five-assist night for the junior.
Jessica Fife (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) was held to just four rebounds after seeing the court for only 17 minutes before fouling out of the game.
Mehr bumped up her already first-place standing as the UMAC's top scorer to 22.3 points per game, adding 12 points from downtown to her superb play under the hoop. Kendra Wycoff added 17 points for Morris (6-7 overall, 4-0 UMAC), going 6-13 overall and 4-7 on three-point tries.
Now 8-7 on the season and 3-1 in league play, Northwestern will regroup before another UMAC game on Saturday afternoon at Crown College in St. Bonifacius, Minn. The Eagles and Storm are scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m.
