ST. PAUL, Minn- The Northwestern women's basketball team hosted the Trinity Christian College Trolls for the NCCAA North Central Region Championship game Saturday afternoon. Northwestern dominated on all sides of the ball as they took down Trinity 81-62, crowning themselves NCCAA North Central Region Champions. UNW will be traveling to Winona Lake, Indiana to compete in the NCCAA Tournament later this month; a tournament in which the Eagles were runner ups last year.
Megan Roberts (Greeley, Colo./Dayspring Christian Academy) got the scoring going for both teams as she battled in the paint for a layup to give Northwestern the two point lead. TCC found a responding three pointer to take the lead away before Roberts found a three of her own for UNW. The Trolls were down by two with six minutes to go before domination on both sides of the ball started to sway the game in favor of Northwestern. The Eagles outscored the Trolls 15-5 in the final four minutes to take a 24-12 lead at the end of the first.
It was raining both inside and outside as the two teams combined for a total of seven three pointers, four of which came from the side of the Eagles in the first quarter.
Not down and out yet, Trinity fought back hard as they opened the second quarter on a 7-2 run in the first three minutes. Kelsea Lund (Madison, Minn./Lac qui Parle Valley) extinguished the run as she knocked down a three pointer to put UNW back up by 10. After the three, neither team scored consecutive buckets as they traded blow for blow. Roberts ended the first half by draining her third three of the game as Northwestern led 42-30 going into the lockers.
Northwestern was led by the duo of Roberts and Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) in the first half as they scored 17 and 12 points respectively. Both teams shot 38.5 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, however, the Eagles attempted 13 more shots than the Trolls, all thanks to the 11 offensive rebounds UNW gathered. Overall, they outrebounded Trinity 26-15 with Roberts being a rebound shy of a double-double in one half.
The flood gates opened in the third quarter as Northwestern outscored Trinity 26-12, hitting four threes in the process as they started to raise the drawbridge on the Trolls. It seemed like the game was coming to an end as they entered the final quarter of regulation until TCC started the final 10 minutes on a 11-3 run to cut their deficit down to 15 points. However, UNW would never see their lead drop below that 15 point threshold as they closed the game out winning 81-62.
The Eagles shot 43.4 percent overall, 40.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 77.8 percent from the free throw line. The rebound game fell heavily in favor of Northwestern as they finished with 45 total rebounds to Trinity's 28. Unselfish play led to 19 assists while selfless defensive play led to eight steals and five blocks.
Leading the team in points, rebounds, and blocks was no other than Roberts as the senior scored 24 points, brought down 14 rebounds for a double-double, and swatted away three shots. Right behind her was Hagen as the freshman came off the bench and lit up the scoreboard for 23 points, shooting 4-for-5 from three. Lund also had a strong game with 15 points and led the team in passing with six assists.
Northwestern will be advancing to the NCCAA Tournament being held in Winona Lake, Indiana. Their first game will be on Wednesday, March 16 with time and opponent still to be decided. For all things UNW women's basketball, visit www.unweagles.com or follow them on social media @unwwbb.
