Box Score

ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern women's basketball team could not have predicted the finish of its Friday night contest versus Luther College, but it worked in the Eagles' favor as the squad picked up the victory by a 72-69 margin. Two free-throws scored with 0.1 seconds left on the clock, and nine overtime points proved to be deciding factor as UNW secured its sixth win of the 2013-14 campaign.



Northwestern got off to a successful start, holding an 8-2 advantage at the 16:27 mark as Jessica Fife (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo)'s layup increased the home team's lead. Luther would find its way back into the contest throughout the remainder of the half, with neither team holding more than a four-point upper hand.



As the buzzer sounded for the end of the first half, Luther was up 33-29 after totaling 11 points courtesy of its bench players, while UNW posted three more second-chance points on the board.

The early minutes of the second period featured more of the same teeter-totter action as neither team held momentum for long. With 9:19 left to play in regulation, a Norse layup saw the Eagles trail by six. Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) would soon cut the deficit in half with a triple, but two more scores would give the visitors their largest lead of the night.

The Purple and Gold kept pressing in thanks to a well-rounded offense. Madson, Fife, and Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) each had a hand in not only erasing Luther's lead, but also providing Northwestern with a 58-57 advantage of its own with 3:51 ticking off the clock. Madson would once again find success beyond the arc to extend the home team's cushion to four, but yet again, another Norse bucket cut  back into the Eagles' security and tied the game at 61-61 at the 1:29 time stamp.

The game was far from over as a pair of free throws by Amanda Busta allowed the visiting team from Decorah, Iowa to hold a two-point advantage with 51 seconds left to play. UNW traveled the distance and turned the ball over, allowing Luther to hold possession with 34 seconds on the clock. A foul with 21 seconds left sent the Norse to the charity stripe once again with the opportunity to increase the lead to two possessions, but a miss and defensive rebound set the Eagles up for the ensuing craziness.

The Snelling Avenue North squad looked to score inside and drew the foul with four seconds remaining, forcing head coach Aaron Kahl to take a timeout and talk things over. As the team returned to the floor, they looked again to the center of the court and found Fife who was fouled and made a trip to the line courtesy of a bonus.

Fife's first attempt bounced out of the rim, forcing another Eagle timeout. With another Fife miss, Courtney Cunard (Missouri Valley, Iowa/Missouri Valley) grabbed the offensive board and found Hannah Holm (Charlotte, N.C./GRACE School) who attacked the basket with less than as second remaining. The third foul in four seconds was called on Luther, once again sending a UNW player to the charity stripe.

With 0.1 seconds left in regulation, Holm's first free throw made its way around the rim and found the bottom, bringing the game to a 63-62 score. The senior came through again, tying the game and sending the contest to overtime.

The extra time did not appear to work in Northwestern's favor at first as Luther scored the first six points. Fortunately for the Eagles those six points would be the final Norse scores in the contest, as UNW would score the next nine points to finish the matchup holding a 72-69 final score.

Three different Eagles reached double digits in the 45 minute game. Fife led all players with 19 points and also brought in 20 boards, while Madson and Sir chipped in a tally of 17 and 16 respectively. Fife's 20-rebound total was just one short of the senior's own program record for single-game boards, last set in the 2011-12 season.

As a team, Northwestern posted a 35.1 percentage from the field, while Luther secured a 38% rate in the same category. The Eagles outrebounded their opponent 51-46, including 18-12 on the offensive end of the floor.

With the victory, Northwestern improves to 6-3 while Luther picked up just its second loss of the season. UNW will have an extended time off from competition before it heads out to Colorado College to take part in a New Year's tournament. The Eagles will first take on St. Joseph's College on Dec. 30, before following that with a matchup versus the host school on Jan. 1.