Box Score

ST. PAUL – In its first game of the 2013-14 campaign, the University of Northwestern women's basketball team utilized scoring runs to earn the upper hand versus Viterbo University Friday night. Led by senior Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood)'s 24 points and fellow classmate Jessica Fife (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo)'s 15 rebounds, the Eagles earned the upper hand by a 62-55 margin in the ACR Homes Tip-Off Tournament, hosted by UNW.

Northwestern took the early lead courtesy of Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) score 40 seconds into the contest. The home team's advantage would extend upwards to 11 points two times in the sixth minute after Sir hit both a free throw and a triple, and would later be increased to 12 with 10:58 left in the first period.

Viterbo came rolling back and took back the upper hand with 4:53 left on the clock at 21-22, but it was the Sir show that ended the period. The senior nailed a pair of three-balls before finding the bottom of the night on a jumper to send UNW into the locker room with a nine point margin on the V-Hawks.

The second period featured the home team continue to hold possession, extending the lead to 12 points courtesy of another Sir bucket. Yet again, the visiting team on the scoreboard refused to roll over, making the final 11:41 of the contest a back and forth battle.

The two squads reached a tie four times in the final 6:15 of action before another late run featured an Eagle scoring flurry. Courtney Cunard (Missouri Valley, Iowa/Missouri Valley) got the momentum rolling to take the final advantage at 2:11, soon connected with Fife's action down low to double the two-point margin. A pair of key defensive rebounds compounded with a trio of free throws proved to secure the outcome in favor of UNW by a 62-55 fashion.

In all, the Eagles capitalized on their opponent's 18 turnovers leading to 30 points over the course of 40 minutes. The home team on the scoreboard owned both the field goal and triple percentage by making 20 of 62 field goals attempted, including 8-27 from beyond the arc.

Northwestern starts off its season with a 1-0 record and will look to extend that mark on Saturday when it takes the court against the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The Blue Devils were also victorious in their opening matchup versus North Central University with a score of 78-50. A 5 p.m. tipoff is scheduled for Saturday's contest, with both live stats and video available.