Box Score LA CROSSE, Wis. – After a nearly two-week hiatus, the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team returned to the hardwood Thursday night, traveling to NAIA's Viterbo University. Thanks to strong second and third quarters and a career-night from
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River), the Eagles were able to improve to 4-1 on the season with a 62-54 road win.
Taylor Schuck (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) scored the first points of the game, a three-pointer after a scoreless first couple of minutes. Sondrol scored on back-to-back possessions for UNW to put the Eagles in front, 7-5, then drilled a three off an assist from Schuck to extend the lead to 12-9 with 1:20 left in the period. When the buzzer sounded, Northwestern held a 12-11 advantage.
Viterbo hit a three to open the second quarter, but
Andrea Pocernich (Cromwell, Minn./Cromwell-Wright) answered back with one of her own to give UNW a 15-14 lead. On the next possession, Sondrol continued her big night, converting an and-one opportunity after a strong drive to the hoop. Northwestern's run stretched to 12-2 after a pair of
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) layups and a floater from Sondrol.
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) scored after collecting two offensive rebounds in the same possession to make it a 14-2 run and put the Eagles on top, 26-16. The V-Hawks put together a 5-0 run, but
Rylie Hirschey (Pine River, Minn./Pine River Backus) put an end to that, drilling a three-pointer off an inside-out dish from
River Landers (Grand Meadow, Minn./Grand Meadow). Northwestern led 30-21 at halftime, with Sondrol's 12 points leading the way.
Hagen came out of the half on fire, hitting a three to give UNW its largest lead at 34-23, then making a floater to get the lead back to 11 again. A Schuck fast-break layup pushed the lead to 13 before Viterbo trimmed the lead to 8. Schuck answered back with a coast-to-coast layup after grabbing the defensive rebound. The V-Hawks again were able to make a run, cutting UNW's lead to six at 40-34, but it was all Northwestern for the rest of the quarter.
Allison Terry (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) started the run with an acrobatic, coast-to-coast layup, which was followed by a
Livvy Grosz (New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony) transition layup off a perfect bounce pass from Hirschey. Hirschey converted a layup of her own soon after, back-dooring the V-Hawks' defense after a nice feed from Terry.
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) drilled a pull-up jumper to make it an 8-0 Northwestern run to close the quarter. The Eagles carried a 48-34 lead into the final period.
Viterbo cut the lead to nine early in the fourth, but a nice post move from Hagen over a much taller defender put UNW back in front by double digits. Hagen came through again shortly after, drilling a three to extend the lead to 55-44. Sondrol beat the shot clock buzzer a couple of possessions later to make it 57-46, but the V-Hawks didn't go away quietly. The home team made a late charge to make things interesting, but free throws from Sondrol, Hirschey (who was 4-4 from the charity stripe) and Hagen sealed a 62-54 win for Northwestern.
Sondrol's 16 points led the way for Northwestern a were a career-high for the junior. Hagen notched her fourth double-double in five games this season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Schuck added nine points, three board and three assists, while Hirschey also scored nine points. Pocernich snagged six rebounds, second to Hagen on the team. While the Eagles turned the ball over themselves more than they would have liked, they also turned their opponents over 20 times on the night. They also dominated in the paint, scoring 28 points there to Viterbo's 14.
After nearly a month of road games to open the season, Northwestern will finally make its home debut Saturday versus Maranatha Baptist University. Tip-off for game one of the Women's-Men's doubleheader is set for 1:00 PM at the Ericksen Center. Those unable to attend can also catch the games on the Eagle Sports Network.
