ST. PAUL, Minn. – University of Northwestern Women's Basketball hosted Martin Luther College on Friday night for a conference contest in the Ericksen Center. Four Eagles had double-digit scoring nights to lead the way to a 72-62 UMAC win over the Knights. With the win, UNW stands alone atop the conference as the only team to still remain undefeated in the UMAC with a 4-0 record.
 
The Eagles leapt out to a 23-11 lead in the first quarter. UNW shot 9-for-19 (47.4 percent) in the opening frame and made four three pointers to power their way to an early 12-point lead.
 
In the second quarter, Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) hit a three to put UNW up by 22 points, leading 38-16 with 3:26 remaining in the half. The Knights would go on to rally, going on a 14-0 run to close out the half and cut their deficit to eight points, trailing 38-30.
 
Early in the third quarter, Livvy Grosz (New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony) made a three-pointer to sever the Knights scoring streak and put UNW up 41-30. Martin Luther, however, would go on to score 10 points in a row to bring their run to 24-3 and cut their deficit down to just a single point, trailing 41-40 with 4:41 remaining in the third. With the Knights on their tails, the Eagles shots began to fall again as they battled to keep ahead of the surging Knights. UNW kept their lead down the stretch in the third quarter and went up by eight points at the close, leading 54-46 heading into the final quarter.
 
In the fourth, Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) made a three to put Northwestern up by 13 points with 6:12 remaining, leading 64-51. The Knights kept up the fight and were able to cut the Eagles' lead back down to five points, trailing UNW 64-59 with 3:10 remaining. The Eagles, however, would go on to find success down the stretch and go back up by 10 points at the very end, winning the thrilling conference battle to improve to 4-0 in the UMAC.
 
Hagen led the Eagles in both points and rebounds, earning a double-double with 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Sondrol followed with a career-high 14 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Grosz had a career-high 12 points for Northwestern, shooting 3-for-5 from long range. Rylie Hirschey (Pine River, Minn./Pine River Backus) scored 10 points for UNW and tied for the team-high with three assists.
 
Up next, Northwestern will host Bethany Lutheran College for a conference home game on Saturday, January 14, at 4:45 P.M. in the Ericksen Center for Hoops Hysteria.