ASHLAND, Wis. – The University of Northwestern women's basketball team returned to Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play Wednesday evening when they faced Northland College. The Eagles took down the Lumberjills, 76-55 in final scoring after shooting an impressive 46% from the field.
 
With the win, Northwestern improves to 6-7 overall and 3-1 in conference action. Northland falls to 3-7 on the year (0-4 in the UMAC). The Eagles fell to the Lumberbills late in the 2017-18 season, but had previously won 12 straight as they look to start a new streak.
 
The purple-and-gold started out strong, taking an 18-6 lead following first quarter play. The Eagles put together a pair of offensively strong quarters in the second and third, scoring a combined 44 points to go up by as much as 26 early in the fourth.
 
Thirteen Northwestern players saw the court in the game, while senior guard Amy Berglund (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) led the pack scoring 17 points on six of 11 shots made. Rio Landers (Grand Meadow, Minn./Grand Meadow) and Kelsea Lund (Madison, Minn./La qui Parle Valley) both recorded double-digit point totals as Landers finished with 14 and a team-best eight rebounds, while Lund added 12 points.
 
Jordan Sauve (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) dished out a game-high nine assists and grabbed five steals in the contest.
 
The Eagles' bench contributed 21 points and the team committed just 12 turnovers, while forcing the Jills to commit 26. Northwestern scored 33 points as a result of the Northland turnovers.
 
Northwestern will return to action on Saturday, January 5 when they welcome St. Scholastica to the Ericksen Center. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. against the Saints.