MANKATO, Minn. – Coming off a conference-opening win at Martin Luther, the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team took on Bethany Lutheran College Saturday afternoon to wrap up the opening weekend of UMAC play. In an entertaining game that featured both sides trading blows like prize fighters, the Vikings were able to edge out the Eagles, 69-68.
The Vikings got out to a quick 5-0 start, but layups by
Taylor Schuck (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) and
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) steadied the waters for Northwestern. BLC responded with a 6-0 run that was ended by a pair of swishes at the free throw line from Schuck. Bethany continued its strong play in the opening quarter, opening up a 17-8 lead until
Allison Terry (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) put her head down and drove past the Vikings' defense for a layup. Trailing 21-10,
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) converted a conventional three-point play to pull the Eagles within eight at 21-13 through one.
Landvik was able to repeat the feat that ended the first quarter early in the second, pulling UNW within 10 points. A
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) layup brought the deficit back to single digits at 28-20. The Vikings pushed the lead back to 10, but the Eagles took over from that point until the end of the half. Hagen drilled a step-back three to trim the lead to seven and the next possession, Schuck swiped the ball away from a Viking and went coast-to-coast for a layup. Another Hagen triple cut the lead to 30-28 before Schuck once again picked up a steal, which led to a
Livvy Grosz (New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony) three that gave UNW its first lead of the game at 31-30. Schuck made a baseline floater with under a minute left to cap off a 13-0 Northwestern run to close the half. The Eagles outscored the Vikings 20-9 in the second period, highlighted by Hagen's eight points.
Both squads struggled to score early in the second quarter, but that was not the case in the third. The teams went back-and-forth as Northwestern got a layup from Landvik and a three from Hagen on its opening two possessions. A Grosz steal led to a Hagen transition layup and put Northwestern in front, 40-38. The Eagles' lead was extended to four after a Landvik layup, but that was as big as their lead would be for the remainder of the contest. The Vikings regained the lead before an
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) turnaround jumped put UNW back on front by one, but the home team closed the quarter strong and led 50-47 when the horn sounded.
The fun really began as the teams took the floor for the final 10 minutes of play. Grosz was unconscious from behind the arc, burying threes on Northwestern's first three possessions of the fourth quarter to put her team ahead, 56-54. With the teams tied at 56, Sondrol decided to join the highlight reel, faking a handoff to a teammate and finishing an and-one opportunity to give UNW a three-point edge. Bethany once again had an answer to tie, but Hagen put the Eagles back in front with a jumper with 5:44 left off a pass from Schuck.
The Vikings regained the lead with 2:50 left, but Hagen tied it right back up with a pair of free throws. A BLC three-pointer with 26.6 seconds left was answered with a Landvik runner in the lane eight seconds later, but a pair of free throws put the Vikings back ahead by three at 68-65. Hagen's three-point attempt for the tie was blocked, and the Vikings seemed poised for the win; however, they still needed at least one free throw to seal the deal. They did make one of the two, and it proved more crucial than most anticipated, as Landvik launched a Hail Mary from well beyond halfcourt that went in to make the final score 69-68 in favor of Bethany Lutheran.
Hagen and Landvik both had strong scoring nights for the second night in a row. Hagen tallied 17 points and eight rebounds while Landvik finished with 15 points, four boards and two steals. Grosz put up 14 points, making four of her five three-point attempts as she scorched the North Gymnasium nets. Schuck contributed eight points, three steals and two assists, while Sondrol added five points and six boards. The Eagles shot the ball exceptionally well, making 44.4% of their threes and 90.9% of their free throws.
The loss drops Northwestern to 7-2 overall and 1-1 in the UMAC. UNW will have another tough test on Tuesday night, as it travels to UW-Stout for a non-conference showdown with the Blue Devils. Stout received votes in the latest D3Hoops Top-25 poll. Tip-off in Menomonie is slated for 7:00 PM.
