ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team was back in action Saturday for game two of a three-game stretch against a WIAC opponent. After falling to #24 UW-Stout on Tuesday, the Eagles welcomed the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire to the Ericksen Center for a highly-anticipated matchup between two NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago. The Blugolds were able to come away with a 73-58 win.
UW-Eau Claire came out in a full-court press, but the Eagles, and particularly point guard
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy), were not fazed. The junior scored Northwestern's first four points of the game, including a coast-to-coast layup and a nifty up-and-under move down low.
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) and
Livvy Grosz (New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony) scored on back-to-back possessions to give UNW an early 8-7 lead. The rest of the quarter had Landvik's fingerprints all over Northwestern's offense. She drove the lane for a layup to tie the game at 10, delivered a perfect bounce pass to
River Landers (Grand Meadow, Minn./Grand Meadow) for a bucket, and drilled a three-pointer with 14 seconds left to trim UWEC's lead to 18-15 after one. The hometown kid had nine of those 15 points.
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) opened up the second quarter with a pair of free throws to pull the Eagles within one. After an Eau Claire layup, Hagen once again cut the lead to one with a left-handed finish off a pass from Sondrol. The Blugolds responded with an 8-0 run which was ended by a Grosz three-pointer. UWEC answered right back with a 6-0 run, but again it was Grosz putting a stop to it, this time with a layup for her seventh points of the half. At halftime, UW-Eau Claire led by a 37-26 score.
The Eagles got some momentum back at the start of the second half.
Taylor Schuck (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) converted a layup and Hagen made a pair of free throws to pull within seven at 37-30. The following possession, Northwestern beautifully broke the Blugolds' press and Sondrol finished inside off a feed from Hagen to make it 39-32. UWEC rattled off a 9-0 run to stop the bleeding, but Landvik ignited another UNW push with an old-fashioned three-point play.
Trailing 50-37, Grosz ventured inside, backed down her defender and finished for two. The next possession, Landvik found a streaking
Allison Terry (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) for a fast-break layup to bring UNW within single digits. A couple of possessions later,
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) decided to emulate Grosz and backed her defender down for a deuce as well, capping off an 8-0 run for the home team. At the horn, Northwestern trailed, 55-44.
The Eagles attempted to claw back in the game's final period, as a Terry layup cut the lead to single digits and a
Lexi Garcia (Colorado Springs, Colo./Vanguard) three via a hand-off from Sondrol made it an eight-point game at 57-49. However, the Blugolds found the gas pedal again and were in control for the remainder of the game. UNW got five points down the stretch from Hagen and free throws from Sondrol, Landvik and Schuck, but UW-Eau Claire held on for a 73-58 win. The loss brings UNW's record to 7-4 on the season.
Landvik continued her strong play in recent weeks with a 14-point, three-rebound, two-assist effort on Saturday. Hagen, battling some foul trouble, finished with 13 points, three boards and two assists. Grosz chipped in nine points and four rebounds. Falk also ripped down four boards while Sondrol and Schuck each dished out two assists.
Northwestern will take some time off for finals and Christmas before traveling out west for a pair of games in Santa Cruz, California. The Eagles will finish the WIAC trifecta with a neutral court contest against UW-Platteville (who received votes in the most recent d3hoops.com Top-25 Rankings) on December 29
th and will play the host of the event, UC-Santa Cruz, on the 30
th.
