Box Score

MANKATO, Minn. – The Northwestern College women's basketball was able to withstand late pressure from Bethany Lutheran College, holding on to the lead until time ran out to give the Eagles a 70-68 victory Friday night.

Northwestern did not waste much time getting on the board as on Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) found Jessica Fife (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) to give NWC its first lead of the game just over a minute into play. Before long, the lead had more than tripled, as Fife and Sir combined to provide the Eagles with a 7-0 upper hand. The Vikings fought its way back into the contest and ended up taking its own lead with 15:30 left in the half.

The visitors' largest lead of the night came just minutes after the team had regained the advantage as Jacki Smith (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) and Sir laid the groundwork, while a Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) triple capped the run, providing the Eagles with a 21-10 margin. The rest of the period saw Bethany Lutheran continue to apply pressure on the upper hand, but Northwestern was able to head into halftime with a 39-37 score.

After nearly 1:30 of non-scoring play, a Hannah Holm (Charlotte, N.C./GRACE School) trey found gold and kick-started Northwestern's second half. The two teams jousted back and forth throughout the period as NWC was last able to reach a nine-point lead with 10:46 to play in regulation.

As the minutes wound down, the home team brought the game within one after a Jade Pelzl long-range make, but a Fife clincher provided a bit of lead security heading into the final 4:46. Another Pelzl triple once again made things interesting with just 1:14 on the clock, but yet again, Fife responded and this time was successful on a pair of charity stripe attempts.

The three-ball continued to fall for Bethany Lutheran with 27 seconds left, bringing the game to a 68-69 margin. Another successful free throw for the Eagles, this time by Holm, and a defensive rebound sealed the deal as the Purple and Gold walked off the court on the prevailing end of the 70-68 final.

As has been the trend all season, the difference maker for Northwestern was its offensive presence behind the arc. The Eagles posted a .54 success rate from triple range, its second-highest mark of this year's campaign, converting 13 of 24 attempts as opposed to the Vikings .29 post. Ball movement also continued to work in NWC's favor as the squad picked up credit for 20 assists in comparison to the home team's 13.

Sir led all scorers with 21 points after going 7-11 from behind the arc. Also chipping in with double digits were Fife with 18, Madson with 10, and Courtney Cunard (Missouri Valley, Iowa/Missouri Valley) who added 12 to the total.

With the victory, NWC secured a berth into the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) tournament. The opening round of the postseason championship will be held on Wednesday, February 20. 

After a quick night of recovery, next up for Northwestern (14-8, 9-2 conference) is a matchup with UMAC third-place team, Martin Luther College. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. in New Ulm, Minnesota.