STORM LAKE, Iowa – The University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team was back in action Tuesday night after a 1-1 weekend at the Saint Benedict Tip-Off Tournament, traveling to Iowa for a road tilt at Buena Vista University. After a tight first quarter, the Eagles found their groove, shooting 48.3% from the field and 56.5% from three-point range en route to an 82-59 non-conference win over the Beavers.
After falling behind 4-0 early,
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) delivered a perfect backdoor pass to a cutting
Taylor Schuck (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) for UNW's first bucket of the night. Northwestern took its first lead with 3:30 left in the quarter when freshman
Ella Falk (Jamestown, ND/Jamestown) came off the bench and knocked down a top-of-the-key three to put the purple and gold up, 9-8. Falk broke a 12-12 tie a few possessions later with a mid-range jumper to finish off the first quarter scoring. Northwestern's two leading scorers in the opening period both came off the bench, as Falk put up five points and pulled down two rebounds and
Allison Terry (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) added three points and three boards.
After the bench led the way in the first quarter, the starters carried their weight in the second, pouring on the points and building what would end up being an insurmountable lead. The Beavers struck first out of the quarter break, but
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) answered with four straight points to put UNW back in front. Sondrol knocked down a three shortly thereafter to give Northwestern its largest lead to that point at 21-16.
With the Eagles leading 26-22, Hagen decided to take over. The junior nailed back-to-back threes and added a free throw to go on a solo 7-0 run (she would go on to score 11 points in the second quarter alone). That was followed by a nifty give-and-go between Terry and
Rylie Hirschey (Pine River, Minn./Pine River Backus), which Terry converted to go ahead by 11. Hirschey then buried a three with 40 seconds left and Falk scored a transition layup to close the half on a 14-2 UNW run. The Eagles led 40-24 at the intermission and were an impressive 6-11 from downtown.
The Beavers opened the second half hot, cutting Northwestern's lead to nine, but
Livvy Grosz (New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony) had other ideas. The senior fed Terry for a three-pointer to extend the lead back to double digits, then ran down an offensive rebound and assisted on a Schuck three-pointer. After a Hagen basket to bring UNW's run to 8-0, Grosz again found a teammate for a layup, this time
River Landers (Grand Meadow, Minn./Grand Meadow). A Hirschey three made the run 15-0 in Northwestern's favor, and the route was on. Hirschey scored nine of her 13 points in the third and the Eagles held a 63-42 lead heading into the final stanza.
Falk, who hit another three near the end of the third, found the bottom of the net to open the fourth quarter, staying hot in her best performance to date as an Eagle. Fellow freshmen
Reese Sellers (Yuma, Ariz./Yuma Catholic) and
Ryann Eddy (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) connected on an and-one late in the game, which Eddy converted with a successful free throw, and Northwestern closed out an 82-59 road win.
The Eagles had four players in double figures, led by Hagen's 20 and 13 rebounds. The reigning UMAC Player of the Year has recorded a double-double in all three games this season. Hirschey added three assists to her 13 points and shot 75% from three, while Terry was fantastic in every aspect, logging 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists off the bench. Falk finished with 10 points and five boards, while Schuck just missed joining the double-digit club with nine points. Landers and Sondrol collected six and five rebounds, respectively, and Sondrol chipped in seven points. Seven Eagles made at least one three-pointer, and the team as a whole finished 13-23 from downtown for 56.5%. The Eagles out-rebounded BVU, 45-28, and led by as many as 29.
Northwestern will return to Iowa on Saturday, as it travels to Decorah for a date with Luther College. The game will tip-off at 1:00 PM.
