ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The University of Northwestern women's basketball team kept pace with local opponent Bethel University, but 31 Eagles turnovers led to a 70-67 loss for the Purple and Gold on Tuesday night. Trailing by 13 with under 10 minutes to play, Northwestern was able to whittle Bethel's lead to three, but the Eagles couldn't get a game-tying shot off in the final five seconds.

Bethel got out to early leads in both the first and second halves, scoring the game's first six points and leading 10-2 in the initial four minutes. Trailing 10-4, Northwestern put together a 11-4 run that had the Eagles up by one on Emily Van Lith (Minot, N.D./Our Redeemers)'s layup in the paint, but the Royals reclaimed the lead 19 seconds later on Kalli Zimmerman's made basket. While turnovers were mounting on both sides of the court, the two teams were even throughout much of the remaining minutes of the first half. A Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) three-pointer – one of three first half treys for the senior – put UNW back in front by a point at the 7:44 mark of the period with a pair of Eagles layups giving Northwestern its largest buffer of the game at 25-20. Bethel didn't reclaim the lead on the scoreboard until inside the final minute of the half as the two teams went into the locker room with the Royals ahead 35-32 at the break.

Madson and Rachel Hart (Elgin, Minn./Home School) were Northwestern's lone players with two or more baskets in the first 20 minutes, but the Eagles were finding success on the board with a 24-20 advantage in rebounds. 13 of UNW's first half rebounds were offensive, allowing Northwestern to score 13 second-chance points. However, Bethel's Zimmerman was giving the Eagles fits with 15 first half points.

Northwestern's strong rebounding effort continued into the second period, but of the Eagles' 15 misses that period, only four were brought down by a purple jersey. Bethel's lead was back to nine in the early goings of Round 2. UNW, who clawed back to come within a point on an and-one play by Madson at 41-40, was going to have to muster another run just minutes later after Bethel took advantage of more turnovers to boast a 13-point buffer. What was a 57-44 Royals advantage went to 58-50 on a 6-1 Eagles spree, and Jacki Smith (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy)'s jumper with 3:36 to go had Northwestern within striking distance at 62-59. Lexi Friesen's three-pointer from the corner at the one-minute mark seemed to be what would be the difference-maker for Bethel, but Smith drained a three of her own before  Amy Berglund (Springfield, Va./West Springfield)'s layup with 10 seconds cut the Royals lead to 70-67. Bethel missed both free throws on the impending foul, but the Eagles were unable to get a shot off before the final horn sounded.

Bethel's Zimmerman continued to have her way in the second half, making nine baskets and nine free throws to lead all scorers with 27 points. Rachel Parupsky, the Royals' 6-foot-2 D3hoops.com Preseason All-American, had seven rebounds in the final 20 minutes after being contained in the first period to finish with a double-double 12 points and 11 rebounds.

For the Eagles, Madson finished 6-of-12 overall and a perfect 5-5 at the charity stripe for a 20-point game, with Regan Cooper (Pella, Iowa/Osseo) and Smith adding 13 and 11 points, respectively. UNW's first half rebounding carried over for a win on the glass for head coach Aaron Kahl's squad, but Northwestern finished the night with more turnovers than defensive rebounds, dooming Northwestern's offensive opportunities.

Now 1-1 four days into the 2014-2015 season, UNW will return to the friendly confines of the Ericksen Center to prepare for back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday. The Eagles will host Finlandia University on Friday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. before returning to the gym less than 24 hours later for a 5 p.m. contest against Hamline University on Saturday, Nov. 22.