ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern women's basketball team faced off against Northland College Saturday afternoon in the Ericksen Center. UNW showed off their fire power as they would take the game 81-37, improving their overall record to 9-5 and their conference record to 4-1.
Both teams came out on fire in the first quarter as neither team seemed like they could miss. It was
Kelsea Lund (Madison, Minn./Lac qui Parle Valley) for the Eagles who started the game hitting two consecutive threes. The main difference of the quarter was the amount of shots that were taken as Northwestern's defense caused the Lumberjills to turnover the ball four times. This led the Eagles to take five more shots resulting in a 12 point lead at the end of the quarter, up 29-17. The Eagles shot 75 percent from the field, while hitting 5-6 from beyond the arc. They were also playing unselfishly as they finished with nine assists in the first.
UNW continued to dominate on all sides of the ball. Although their shooting was not as hot as it was in the first quarter, their presence was felt defensively and on the boards. They continued to fire the three ball and continued to hit it as they entered the lockers leading 47-25.The Eagles outrebounded the Lumberjills and forced another six turnovers.
In the second half, the Eagles continued their defensive pressure as they would finish the game with 27 forced turnovers, scoring 36 points off of the turnovers. They would take down the Lumberjills 81-37.
Overall, it was a shooting barrage from UNW, shooting 53.4 percent from the field, 46.7 percent from the three-point line, and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line. The Northwestern bench took over the game, scoring 44 of the 81 points for the team. As for their defense, they finished with 16 steals and six blocks. They would also finish with 19 assists, showing the unselfish playstyle from the team.
Lund led the team in points and assists, scoring 14 and collecting five assists.
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) was right behind her with 12 points while both
Megan Roberts (Greeley, Colo./Dayspring Christian Academy) and
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) would finish the game with 10 points. On the defensive end, tied for blocks were
Hailey Paup (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Concordia Academy) and Roberts who both had two. As for steals,
Rylie Hirschey (Pine River, Minn./Pine River Backus) and
Alayna Lindquist (Becker, Minn./Becker) would come off the bench and both would come away with three a piece.
Northwestern have a couple of days before they head over to Crown College to take on the Storm. That game will be on Wednesday, January 26 at 6:00 p.m. For all things UNW women's basketball, visit www.unweagles.com or follow them on social media @unwwbb.
