ST. PAUL, Minn. – At long last, the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team made its home debut for the 2023-24 season on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles did not disappoint the home crowd, jumping all over Maranatha Baptist University early and cruising to a 95-35 win to improve to 5-1 on the season in non-conference play.
Northwestern came out showcasing some heavy, full-court pressure on defense, and the Sabercats struggled to beat it, turning the ball over seven times in the opening quarter. A heavy dose of
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River), who put up a career-high 16 points in Thursday's win at Viterbo University, on offense helped the Eagles take control and finish the quarter leading 28-2. Sondrol had nine points through 10 minutes, while
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) and
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) each had five.
The Sabercats settled in a bit in the second period, only turning it over four times, but Northwestern was still able to increase its lead to 46-15 through the first half and limited Maranatha to just 25%. The Eagles made an impressive 54% of their field goal attempts in the first half. Sondrol continued to have her way inside, finishing the half with 15 points, three stealss and three assists. Hagen, who had posted double-doubles in all but one game coming into Saturday, had 11 points and four rebounds at the break.
The third quarter belonged to
Livvy Grosz (New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony). After Northwestern had stretched its lead to 53-17 thanks to one basket each from the Eagles' other four starters, Grosz scored nine of UNW's next 11 points on a trio of three-pointers, with
River Landers (Grand Meadow, Minn./Grand Meadow) providing the other bucket. The Eagles led 67-32 at the end of the quarter.
The starters got some much-deserved rest in the fourth quarter, but that didn't mean the scoring stopped for the purple and gold. Six different UNW reserves scored in the final frame as Northwestern won the quarter 27-3 to win by a staggering 60 points at 95-35. Freshmen
Ryann Eddy (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) and
Reese Sellers (Yuma, Ariz./Yuma Catholic) (who also made a transition layup) each knocked down a pair of threes while fellow rookie
Lani Schoper (Madison Lake, Minn./Mankato West) pitched in four points herself down the stretch.
Lexi Garcia (Colorado Springs, Colo./Vanguard) added five points in the fourth.
For the second consecutive game, Sondrol (who finished with 17 points) led the Eagles in scoring while setting a career best. Hagen finished with nine and seven rebounds, while Falk contributed nine points, five boards and four steals and Grosz nine points.
Taylor Schuck (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) led the team with five assists in addition to her seven points. Landvik dished out four assists, while Terry and Schoper each tallied three. In totality, 13 Eagles scored in the game and all 16 saw action.
After another quick turnaround, Northwestern will play its third game in five days on Monday night when they host Buena Vista University. UNW defeated Buena Vista 82-59 at BVU in the teams' first meeting on November 14th. Tip-off at the Ericksen Center is slated for 6:30 PM.
