MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Despite cruising to a 34-point win over North Central University just three weeks prior, the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team knew that Saturday's rematch with the Rams would be far from a cake walk. That being said, the Eagles were able to pull out a 62-58 road win in front of a packed Clark-Danielson Gymnasium thanks to some timely shooting and the second half of a lifetime from junior guard
Taylor Schuck (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy).
The only point of the first four minutes for UNW came from a
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) free throw, but
Andrea Pocernich (Cromwell, Minn./Cromwell-Wright) canned a three-pointer to knot the score at four with 5:40 remaining.
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) hit back-to-back threes to make it 13-12, North Central, then made another jumper with 35 seconds left to trim the lead to 16-14 at the end of the first quarter. The sharp-shooting freshman finished the opening frame with nine points.
After the Rams opened the second quarter with a score,
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) answered right back with a reverse layup, then hit a runner a couple minutes later to pull the Eagles within two at 20-18. With 5:22 left in the half, Landvik snuck behind the Rams' zone defense and finished a reverse layup off a pass from Falk, then the pair reversed roles and pulled off the same feat on the very next possession. A
River Landers (Grand Meadow, Minn./Grand Meadow) free throw allowed Northwestern to finally pull within one point and, with 3:11 remaining,
Rylie Hirschey (Pine River, Minn./Pine River Backus) buried a three to give UNW its first lead of the game at 26-24. Falk made a pull-up jump shot with just under a minute left to give her 13-first half points and make the lead four, and Northwestern would go into the half with a 28-27 advantage.
The home team opened the second half on a tear, rattling off an 8-0 run before
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan), who battled foul trouble for much of the first half, hit a three-pointer to pull Northwestern back within four points. The junior made another triple just over a minute later to again trim the lead to four, and four free throws from Schuck made it 40-38, Rams. Schuck put her stamp on the third quarter with a three-pointer and a layup to give her nine points in the frame and bring UNW within a point, and two Falk free throws with 55 seconds left gave the Eagles a 45-44 edge entering the final period.
Falk began the fourth with a turn-around jumper to give Northwestern a three-point cushion, but NCU responded with a 6-0 run to go ahead, 50-47. That lead wouldn't last long, as Schuck buried a massive three to pull even at 50 with 4:53 left in the game. North Central regained the lead with a pair of free throws, but UNW hit them right back with a 7-0 run that included a tie-breaking three from Hagen and two free throws each from Landers and
Livvy Grosz (New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony). Schuck and Hirschey closed out the game with three and two free throws, respectively, and the Eagles made the quick drive back across the river with a 62-58 victory in hand.
Falk, who has caught fire in the past eight days, led all scorers in the game with 17 points. Schuck followed suit with 15 points (all scored in the second half), six steals and five rebounds in a second half performance for the ages. Hagen tallied nine points, making all three of her three-point attempts. Landers added six boards (three offensive) while Landvik and Grosz contributed four and three assists, respectively. The difference in the game was UNW's shooting ability, as the Eagles made 42.9% of their three-pointers (compared to 18.8% for NCU) and made 19 free throws (on 73.1%) while only allowing 13 free throw attempts.
The win puts Northwestern in third place in the UMAC since it has now clinched the tie-breaker over North Central. The Eagles will travel north next weekend, beginning with a rematch with Northland College on Friday night, who UNW just defeated, 96-32, earlier this week. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 PM in Ashland.
