NEW ULM, Minn. – The Northwestern women's basketball team played their first conference game of the season as they took on the Knights of Martin Luther College.  UNW took the contest 83-44 thanks to a dominant first quarter and improved their overall record to 6-4, 1-0 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play.
 
It was a first quarter like no other for the Eagle offense. They shot 9-9 from the field, including three three-pointers in an early 23-1 run in the first seven minutes of the game. Kelsea Lund (Madison, Minn./Lac qui Parle Valley) was one of the highlights of the run as she made all three of her attempts, two of which were three-pointers. Northwestern finished the first quarter up 29-5.
 
UNW shot 12-14 for an outstanding 85.7 percent from the field in the quarter. A lot of their buckets came off of great passes as the Eagles had seven assists. Just like their hot offense, their defense proved impenetrable as they had two blocks, both of which came from Megan Roberts (Greeley, Colo./Dayspring Christian Academy), and held the Knights to 13 percent shooting.
 
The Knights were not going to go down without a fight as they battled the Eagles in the second quarter. UNW did not allow the MLC to come within 15 points as they continued scoring. The Eagles would hold onto a lead of 18 points, entering halftime up 43-25.
 
UNW continued to build their lead in the second half as they outscored MLC 40-19 in the final two quarters to take the contest 83-44. They finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field while also shooting 75 percent from the free-throw line.
 
Lund led the Eagles in scoring, finishing with 15 points. Right behind her were Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) and Hailey Paup (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Concordia Academy) who scored 12 and 10 points a piece. Leading the team in the rebound category was Roberts who gathered seven rebounds while also scoring six points. 
 
It is a quick turnaround for Northwestern as they will be playing their next game tomorrow. They will be traveling over to take on the Vikings of Bethany Lutheran College at 3:00 p.m. For all things UNW women's basketball, visit www.unweagles.com or follow them on social media @unwwbb.