Box Score

DULUTH, Minn. – In a game that went the extra mile, the Northwestern College women's basketball team posted a big final five minutes of the regular season to earn a 90-77 overtime victory against The College of St. Scholastica on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles received huge offensive production from Jessica Fife (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo), Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood), and Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove), as the trio combined for 71 of the squad's point total.

After a quick bucket by St. Scholastica, Northwestern responded a minute later with a triple by Madson, earning its first advantage that would last the remainder of the half. The Saints kept NWC in check, not allowing the visitors to increase their lead to more than seven points until 6:45 remained before intermission. A long-range make by Sir pushed the margin to 32-23 before the host squad countered with a layup, but Courtney Cunard (Missouri Valley, Iowa/Missouri Valley) nailed a pair of charity stripe attempts to once again put the lead just shy of double digits as the clock read 5:07.

St. Scholastica was not done with their first half performance and began to edge into the Eagles' buffer, bringing the game within three before Jacki Smith (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) and Sir combined for a four-point rally that would be reigned in to a 40-35 lead at halftime.

The second half started at a virtual even, as the two squads exchanged baskets and leads with NWC maintaining a slight advantage throughout the early trades. The Purple and Gold marked an upper hand of eight points courtesy of a Sir triple, and yet again the Saints fought back and brought the game to a series of ties towards the end of regulation. Northwestern had a three-point positive margin with 13 seconds ticking off the clock after a series of Sir free-throws, but as St. Scholastica made its way down the floor, a trey from Mariah Hovick prolonged the regular season as the buzzer sounded.

After one tie 35 seconds into overtime, the Fife began the Eagles' 11-2 run that provided a 10-point buffer with just over one minute left in the ballgame. CSS would put its final mark on the board with :48 ticking off the clock and the visiting team kept rolling, ending the game with a 90-77 victory.

Northwestern posted a .484 field goal percentage on the afternoon, including a .667 result in overtime: both marks proving higher than their opponent's. Additionally, NWC was able to utilize St. Scholastica turnovers to notch 30 points in comparison to the Saints' 10.

The big key of the evening was the offensive performances of Fife, Sir, and Madson, in addition to contributions by three other Eagles. Fife led all scorers with 26 points and also brought in 14 boards, while Sir and Madson each totaled 25 and 20 poitns respectively.

Even before the game had ended, the Eagles had solidified the #2 seed for the upcoming Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Postseason Tournament as a result of a Martin Luther College loss to the University of Minnesota Morris. Northwestern (16-9 overall, 11-3 UMAC) will now host the semifinal round of tournament play on Wednesday, making it a home night for both the men's and women's hoop squads. Tipoff versus #3 seed Martin Luther College is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 7:30.