Box Score

ST. PAUL – Northwestern College held off a late-game comeback by the College of St. Scholastica to win 73-68 on Friday night. The Eagles, who found themselves behind by four, outscored the Saints 13-4 in the final 3:49 to win by five and remain in second place in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) standings.



Friday's game was all about runs, but not before some early back-and-forth competition as both Northwestern and St. Scholastica traded baskets before a 9-9 tie at the 15:16 mark of the first half. The Saints hit consecutive baskets to lead by five before a pair of free throws from Jessica Fife (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) and a Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) three-pointer gave the Eagles a one-point buffer, 17-16.

Down 16-12 at one point, Northwestern continued its run of 10 straight points to go up by 22-16 with just over eight minutes left to play in the period. St. Scholastica decided it was the Saints' turn at a run, and the visitors did enough to tie the game and then lead 29-28 over the course of the next seven minutes. Fife broke a 33-33 tie with a layup in the paint to send NWC into the locker room with a slight two-point buffer.

The margin remained close as the Eagles led by just a point three minutes into the second round. Kim Campbell (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) sparked another NWC spree though as the home team drained a pair of treys to lead 50-39 with 14:26 to go. The Purple and Gold's buffer stayed in double digits, but St. Scholastica turned a 55-44 score into a 60-58 ballgame over the course of four minutes time. Mariah Hovick brought her team even with the Eagles on a layup, leaving 5:09 to go to determine the final outcome. CSS threatened the Northwestern home victory with a four-point margin as part of an 11-piont run, but another combo package of Fife free throws and a Madson three put the score back in NWC's favor for good as the late push led to a 73-68 final score.

Shooting definitely kept Northwestern in the game as the Eagles made 22 of 53 attempts (43.4 percent), with Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) making five three-pointers. NWC also made good on their free throws, going 18-20 at the charity stripe to overcome a 21-turnover night for the Eagles.

Meanwhile, St. Scholastica finished with a 37.3 clip, making 25 of 67 shots. The Saints owned a three-point edge on the boards, but couldn't overcome a near-triple-double by Fife, who's line read 12 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Sir's deep ball threat produced 23 points, while Madson had a good night with 22 points on 9-16 shooting.

Erin Frase produced a double-double for the Saints (6-11, 3-3 UMAC), scoring 20 points to go with 11 rebounds to lead St. Scholastica. Kaya Heisler chipped in 14 points for the visitors.

Now 10-7 overall, Northwestern improves to 5-1 in the UMAC lineup. The Eagles will be in action again in less than 24 hours as NWC welcomes Northland College to the Ericksen Center for a 3 p.m. contest on Saturday.