ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The University of Northwestern women's basketball team hosted North Central University on Saturday afternoon. Earlier this season, UNW came up short against the Rams, but successfully bounced back in the teams' second meeting to outlast NCU on their home court. Landers, Roberts and Lund all scored 20 points or more to lead the Eagles to a 78-69 win.
 
Northwestern improves to 13-7 overall and 9-2 in the UMAC, while North Central falls to 9-10 this season and 5-5 in the UMAC.
 
The Eagles started the game with high energy, leading by as much as seven. Kelsea Lund (Madison, Minn./La qui Parle Valley) had two three-pointers along with a number of lady Eagles scoring baskets down low. Hailey Paup (North Oaks, Minn./Concordia Academy) surged UNW forward with two key buckets.
 
Northwestern was up 17-13 at the beginning of the second quarter, and led for the entirety of the half. Rio Landers (Grand Meadow, Minn./Grand Meadow) scored seven points and Lund added eight in second quarter action. The Eagles continued to show tough defense as they forced 13 turnovers and 5 steals to maintain a 35-26 lead over the Rams at the half.
 
The third quarter deemed tough for the Eagles, as NCU came battling back. The Rams took the lead with five minutes to go and continued to grow, extending to as much as seven.
 
As scoring went back and forth between teams, Megan Roberts (Greeley, Colo./Dayspring Christian Academy) would drain multiple clutch three-pointers to keep UNW alive. With time running out, Roberts would connect on another three for the Eagles first lead of the quarter to go into the fourth up by one, 51-50.
 
In the final quarter, Northwestern continued to connect as momentum swung their way. The Eagles kept and extended their lead with Megan Roberts (Greeley, Colo./Dayspring Christian Academy) being the main contributor. North Central came within three with just under seven minutes left in the game. 
 
With time running down, Rio Landers (Grand Meadow, Minn./Grand Meadow) came up big for Northwestern on both sides of the ball, scoring baskets along with blocking shots defensively. Although the fourth was close, ultimately UNW came out on top winning 78-69.
 
Rio Landers (Grand Meadow, Minn./Grand Meadow) led the Eagles scoring a double-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds, while Megan Roberts (Greeley, Colo./Dayspring Christian Academy) added 21 points and Kelsea Lund (Madison, Minn./La qui Parle Valley) finished with 20.
 
The Eagles will be back in action on Wednesday as they travel to take on the Morris Cougars. Tipp-off is slated for 7:15 PM.
 
For all things women's basketball visit www.unweagles.com or follow them on Instagram and Twitter at @unwwbb.