SUPERIOR, Wis. – The University of Northwestern women's basketball team stayed in Wisconsin to take on the Yellowjackets of the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Saturday afternoon. A hot fourth quarter propelled UNW over UWS for a 53-41 victory. The Eagles improved to a 16-5 record (11-1 UMAC) and now sit at a 10 game win streak as they enter the final week of the regular season.
The Yellowjackets started the scoring off for both teams before the Eagles drove down the court and drew a foul. After
Hailey Paup (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Concordia Academy) hit both free throw attempts, a steal by
Kelsea Lund (Madison, Minn./Lac qui Parle Valley) forced another shooting foul and she would connect on both to give Northwestern their first lead of the game at 4-2. Superior would respond with fire as they went on a 12-4 run to take a 14-8 lead with four and a half minutes left. Lund decided enough was enough, as she would knock down two threes to help tie the game. She then served up a nice pass to
Ashlyn Jones (New London, Minn./New London - Spicer) who put in the final bucket of the quarter to give UNW a 18-16 lead at the end of the first.
It was a great start to the second quarter as the Eagles held the Yellowjackets to only two points in the first five minutes and built their lead up to 27-18. However, the other five minutes basically reversed the role of both teams, as by the end of the half Superior got themself within four points with Northwestern leading 31-27 at the half.
UNW was not too hot from shooting compared to UWS but the main difference came from the amount of free throws they were able to shoot. The Eagles attempted 14 free throws in the first half and knocked down 13 of them while the Yellowjackets only attempted two and made one. Northwestern defensively caused Superior to turn the ball over nine times and were able to earn nine points off of them.
The third quarter saw both teams struggle to put the ball in the basket. Although Northwestern only made two baskets, Superior was only able to outscore them by two points to bring them within two points, 37-35, heading into the final quarter.
From cold to hot, in the first minute and a half in the final quarter the Eagles were able to surpass their third quarter points with three made shots in a row to extend their lead to nine. They rode this run into the end of the game as they outscored Superior 16-6, taking home the victory 53-41 over the Yellowjackets.
Northwestern finished the game shooting 17-20 from the charity stripe, a crucial key to their victory. Another big spot for them was their defense as they had three blocks and an outstanding 14 steals.
Lund's hot first quarter helped her lead the team in scoring with 17 points while she practically stole the game from the Yellowjackets, finishing with a team high six steals. Roberts scored all 14 of her points in the second half to help the Eagles earn the victory, she also led the team with two blocks while bringing down nine rebounds. Leading the team in rebounds was Paup, who finished with a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
The Eagles will be back in the Ericksen Center for their final two games of the regular season. The first game will be on Friday, February 18 as they host a critical conference matchup against the Vikings of Bethany Lutheran at 5:30 p.m. For all things UNW women's basketball, visit www.unweagles.com or follow them on social media @unwwbb.
