ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern women's basketball team hosted their red hot conference opponent in the Vikings of Bethany Lutheran College on Friday. It took all four quarters plus extra time but UNW found the victory, upsetting Bethany's perfect UMAC record and giving Northwestern the chance to be regular season co-champions with the Vikings. The Eagles improve to a 17-5 record (12-1 UMAC) and now hold an 11-game win streak.
It was a slow start offensively for both teams as defense was the main key of the game. The Vikings broke the scoring seal two and a half minutes into the first quarter with a three pointer. Then, the Northwestern offense exploded for a 13-0 run in the next four minutes, capped off by a
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) three. Both teams would exchange baskets throughout the rest of the quarter as UNW took a 20-12 lead.
It was Bethany who found the hot hand in the second quarter as they went on a 20-4 run in the first seven minutes. The Eagles were able to cool their fire while igniting their own by going on a 7-0 run to cut the Vikings' lead down to one with a little less than two minutes to go. BLC would hit one more free throw as UNW entered halftime trailing by two, 33-31.
Northwestern shot a hot 61.5 percent in the first quarter but a colder second quarter dropped their first half shooting percentage to 41.4 percent while also hitting 30.8 percent of their three-point attempts. The Eagles showed off their passing game as they made a total of 12 shots, nine of which came off of assists.
The third quarter was intense as the lead for the Vikings never eclipsed four points. It was looking like a two point lead for Bethany until
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) converted on a last-second and-one to give Northwestern a one point lead, 47-46, heading to the final quarter.
Once again it was a competitive quarter as the Eagles jumped ahead by five in the first four minutes. In the dying minutes of regulation, a layup and some free throws tied the game for the Vikings. Northwestern tried to draw up a game winning shot but it did not work out as the buzzer blew and the game went into extras tied 59-59.
If people never learned of Landvik's name, they definitely would in overtime. The freshman would have a career night and when it mattered most, she delivered with two threes in the extra period. The second one was swished with just 36 seconds left on the clock to put the Eagles up by three. After a made free throw from
Kelsea Lund (Madison, Minn./Lac qui Parle Valley) to build the lead to four points, a wild three pointer fell for the Vikings to cut the deficit to one with nine seconds left. Bethany would immediately foul
Megan Roberts (Greeley, Colo./Dayspring Christian Academy), but with ice in her veins, she would nail both attempts from the charity stripe. With seven seconds left, BLC drew up a play but the tight defense of UNW would not let them through, taking the game 70-67 in overtime.
Overall, the Eagles shot 41.5 percent from the field, 32 percent from beyond the arc, and hit 80 percent of their free-throw attempts. They had a total of 39 rebounds with 13 of them being offensive boards, which resulted in 17 second-chance points. They kept the hot passing going as the team finished with 17 assists while the defense was prominent throughout the entire game, finishing with nine steals and five blocks. It was the night of the bench as they scored 38 of the 70 points for the team.
Leading the way with a career night was Landvik who finished the game with a team high 18 points and four assists. Second in scoring was
Megan Roberts (Greeley, Colo./Dayspring Christian Academy) who earned a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Hagen finished the night shooting 4-for-8 from beyond the arc and a total of 14 points.
Hailey Paup (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Concordia Academy) also had a strong game with 10 points and four rebounds.
The Eagles will be back wrapping up their regular season tomorrow in the Ericksen Center as they look to become co-champions in the UMAC. Their final opponent will be the Knights of Martin Luther College at 3:00 p.m. For all things UNW women's basketball, visit www.unweagles.com or follow them on social media @unwwbb.
