Box Score

NEW ULM, Minn. – Less than 24 hours after securing a berth in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC postseason tournament), the Northwestern College women's basketball team was unable to reign in Martin Luther College, falling 69-60 in the Saturday matinee contest.

The Eagles trailed early after not posting their first basket until 2:37 had ticked off the clock when a Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) layup cut into the home team's 5-0 lead. Martin Luther continued to control the possession of the matchup, while NWC took its first lead of the afternoon thanks to a Kim Campbell (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) three, putting the score at 17-16. The home team fired back and took over the upper hand before another triple, this time b y Courtney Cunard (Missouri Valley, Iowa/Missouri Valley), found gold and pushed Northwestern ahead of the Knights once again.

The rest of the half continued to play out in favor of the home team but the Purple and Gold kept game in check, trailing 27-34 at intermission. The first 20 minutes alone saw the Knights post a rebound total over double that of the visitors, 30-14, thereby outscoring the Eagles 8-0 in second chance points.

As the second period kicked off, Northwestern continued to make its presence felt through persistent scoring pressure in response to Martin Luther buckets. The visitors rallied within two after Madson nailed a triple and was followed by a Jacki Smith (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) jumper, cutting the margin to 42-40.

Consistent offensive attacks by the Knights eventually built up the deficit to double-digits as the final minutes began to wind down. NWC cut the lead to eight with 1:39 to play, courtesy of a Jessica Fife (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) close-range basket, but it was too little, too late as he home team finished the 40-minute game with a nine point cushion, 69-60.

The Eagles finished the matchup with a .423 shooting percentage in comparison to the Knights' .362 success rate, but Martin Luther was more successful with three-balls, besting NWC .385 to .300.

For the second consecutive night, Mollie Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) led all scorers with a 21-point total. Smith was the other Eagle in double-figures with 12 points after going 6-9 from the floor.

Next up for Northwestern (14-9 overall, 9-3 UMAC) is a week of practice before traveling north for the final games of the regular season, kicking off on Friday evening versus Northland College in a 5:30 p.m. matchup.