SANTA CRUZ, CALIF. – The University of Northwestern women's basketball team battled Whittier College (1-6) in their final contest before the holiday break Wednesday evening. The Eagles captured a 66-48 victory over the Poets, and now move to 6-5 on the season.

Throughout a closely contested first (18-12) and second quarter (11-12), UNW fought their way through WC's defense to boost a 29-24 lead heading into the locker room. The Eagles then went on to surpass the Poets by one point in the third (17-16), and outshot the home team 20-8 in the final period of play to clinch a 66-48 triumph.

With the hot hands on the night, Amy Berglund (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) led the team with 25 points while adding seven rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal on the evening. Teammate Logan Retzlaff (St. Peter, Minn./St. Peter) also had a strong showing on the match as she closed with 14 points, four rebounds, four steals, and one assist.

Northwestern shot 44.2% from the field to outshine Whittier who finished with a 23.9% shooting percentage. As a team, the Eagles also posted 41 rebounds (12 OFF & 29 DEF), 18 assists, nine steals, and eight blocks to end the contest.

The purple and gold will be back in action on Friday, January 6^th, to take on Crown College. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. Fans can find more information on the women's basketball team by following @unwwbb on Twitter and by visiting www.unweagles.com.