Winona Lake, IN — In the tightest game of the week, the University of Northwestern enjoyed a 67-62 victory over Southern Wesleyan University Friday afternoon. The Eagles ended their season with the victorious game over the NCAA Division II university from Central, South Carolina.

Regan Cooper (Pella, Iowa/Pella) charged the paint, making the first basket of the game at 18:50. Southern Wesleyan responded with two jumpers, taking a 4-3 lead. Kim Campbell (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) made a steal and made a breakaway, putting the Eagles at a 9-5 lead five minutes into the game. The Warriors responded with three consecutive baskets, bringing their lead to 12-9 over the Purple squad. Struggling to find a shot, the Eagles relied on free throws in the next few minutes to keep them in the game. Emily Van Lith (Minot, N.D./Our Redeemers) broke the shooting spell with a layup, thanks to a well-placed pass from Jenny Chamberlain (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) with just over eight minutes to go in the half. Jackie Foster (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City) added two points from the charity stripe, bringing the Eagles to a score of 19-17, barely trailing the Warriors. Two shots from downtown by Tiffany Stubbs (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) and Campbell gave the Eagles an extra push of momentum from behind the arc but were still down 27-25 with just under five minutes on the clock. Jessica Cole (Altoona, Iowa/Southeast Polk) drained a three in the last stretch of the half, ending the half with a score of 34-32 in favor of Southern Wesleyan. Northwestern shot 9 for 30 in the field and 3 for 17, most of which happened in the final minutes of the half. Freshman Cole led at half with seven points, four of which were behind the stripe.

Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) started the half with two consecutive shots from downtown. Cooper followed with two jumpers of her own. With that, Northwestern took a 42-41 lead with 17 minutes on the clock. Southern Wesleyan continued to capitalize on shots in the field, reclaiming a 51-29 lead with 10:59 left in the game. Jacki Smith (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) tied the game at 51 apiece with two bonus points from behind the stripe with a time of 8:45. With a back-to-back three point run, Madson and Stubbs came in firing, taking a 61-57 lead with just over five minutes. The next few minutes seemed to come in slow motion as only two Eagle free throws were made. With a turnover in the last minute, UNW started sweating as they were only up by three. Fortunately, the Warriors missed their jumper, as the Eagles regained possession at the 25 second mark. Northwestern gave up yet another turnover, as the Blue capitalized on a layup with :19 on the clock, forcing Aaron Kahl to call a timeout. Madson took advantage of two bonus points bringing the score to 65-62. Kim Campbell (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) came in clutch with a block from a three point attempt on the visitors side. With a final foul on the floor, Regan Cooper (Pella, Iowa/Pella) stepped up to the charity stripe, making both shots with five seconds on the board. As time ran out, the Eagles ended their season with a 67-62 victory.

Southern Wesleyan shot 34.9 percent of shots from the field, with 25.8 percent of threes made. The Eagles warmed up in the second half, ending with a cumulative percentage of 35.8 for FGs and 28.6 for threes.  

Madson ended her career with a bang, scoring 20 points for the Purple. Cooper (12) and Foster (10) also joined the double digit club. Smith added eight rebounds to the mix with Cooper right behind with seven.

Northwestern ended their season with a record of 19-12. The Eagles graduate Jacki Smith (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) and Chanel Madson (Westbrook, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove). Smith leaves Northwestern's program claiming blocking titles across the board. Smith ended her career breaking UNW's most single season blocks record, coming in at 116 blocks in her 28 games this year. Sue Reynolds of the 1991-1992 season previously held the title with 59 blocks. The senior also shattered the career block record with 231. Smith's last three seasons held the record at 115 career blocks in her 62 games. With a heaping of awards this year, Smith earned NCCAA Player of the Week twice, UMAC all-conference second team, and NCCAA All-region first team.

Madson leaves the program with an impressive collection of awards under her belt. This year alone, she received UMAC Player of the week, UMAC all-conference first team, NCCAA All-Region first team, and NCCAA North Central Region Player of the Year. Madson, a part of the 1,000 point club, ended her career with 1441 points. Madson ended fourth in school records for single-season threes  made, earning 80 this year. Lastly, the senior came in third for all-time threes made in a career at Northwestern with 257.