ST. PAUL— In a tight first half, the University of Northwestern secured a strong second half finish over Crown College with a 71-56 victory Saturday night. The Eagles earned their first conference championship since 2008.

The Eagles started off with three quick turnovers in the first minute of play before Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) drained her first three. Crown responded with two jumpers, as the Storm took a 4-3 lead. The visitors kept feeling the heat as they advanced to a score of 10-5 with just over 15 minutes to go. Kim Campbell (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) broke the three minutes dry spell for the home team with a layup at the 14:28 mark. Madson launched the Eagles back into the lead with a shot from behind the arc as the score sat a 13-10 with 13 minutes to go. As Northwestern continued to build momentum, Crown called their first timeout of the game. Jacki Smith (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) took advantage of two visits downtown in the 10th minute, as she brought the Purple and Gold to a 23-17 with her six points. The Storm continued to make a comeback, tying the score at 23 with four minutes remaining in the first half. As both teams battled for the lead, Crown's Andrea Besa drained a trey, securing the visitors' lead at halftime with a score of 30-28.

Madson's three-pointer started the second half momentum for the home squad, as they led 35-30 before Crown called a timeout with 18:34 on the clock. Smith added three points of her own shortly after in her third trey of the night. UNW reached an 11 point lead thanks to two additional shots downtown from Madson. Reaching their highest peak so far, Northwestern led by 15 with 10 minutes on the board. Stubbs made her first three of the night, putting the score at an Eagle advantage of 60-46 with five minutes to go. Crown continued to battle for a comeback, but fell short as time ran out, ending in a final score of 71-56.

Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) and Jacki Smith (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) performed well on UNW's senior night, as Madson led with 24 points and Smith earned a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Northwestern shot 47.1 for field goals and 45 percent for threes. Out of the 18 free throws, UNW shot 77.8 percent, with Kim Campbell (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) making 6 of 6.
Crowns' Lead Breakfield had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, with Miranda Brueggeman leading with 14 points for the Storm.

With Northwestern (16-8 overall, 12-2 UMAC)'s win, they are the No. 1 seed in the UMAC Tournament and will host the fourth seed on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.