EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – Through 20 minutes of play, the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team appeared to be playing the best basketball of its season to date. A 36-23 lead would soon vanish; however, as the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire stormed back to win, 62-54, on a bitter-cold Wednesday night in western Wisconsin. The loss drops Northwestern to an even 3-3 in non-conference play this season.
It was all Blugolds early, as the hosts built a 9-3 lead, only countered by a
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) three-pointer. The first quarter would become a three-point parade for the Eagles, as the first 18 points UNW scored came from behind the arc.
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) hit two of those threes, while
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River),
Reese Sellers (Yuma, Ariz./Yuma Catholic) and
Lexi Garcia (Colorado Springs, Colo./Vanguard) each knocked down one. A
Ryann Eddy (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) layup gave Northwestern a 20-11 lead, which shrunk to 20-17 by the end of the opening period.
Despite UWEC's 6-0 run to close the quarter, the Eagles were note deterred. Hagen opened the second frame with a paint score, then Landvik knocked down her second trey to make it 25-17.
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) buried a three of her own to make it eight straight UNW points to open the quarter before Eau Claire finally found the bottom of the net. A Falk layup three minutes later gave Northwestern a nine-point advantage at 30-21,
Taylor Christenson (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) (four points) and Falk (two points) teamed up to provide a 6-0 spurt for the visitors to close out the first half at 36-23. The Eagles out-scored their counterparts 16-6 in the second quarter alone.
Over the first 4:29 of the third quarter, UW-Eau Claire shut out UNW to pull within six points. Eddy made a three-pointer a few seconds later to stop the bleeding, but the Blugolds would ultimately trim the deficit to one possession before a Christenson layup made it 41-36. An 8-0 run put UWEC in front for the first time since the first quarter, but Sondrol drilled a three at the buzzer to tie it at 44 entering the final stanza.
The surge continued into the fourth quarter for Eau Claire, as it opened the frame with six straight points before Christenson stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws. The hosts built the lead up to eight, but a Landvik free throw and another Sellers three brought Northwestern within four. After a layup put the Blugolds ahead by six, Northwestern gave one last push, getting three points from Falk and one from Landvik to pull within two. UWEC answered with a three-pointer with 1:33 left and made the necessary free throws down the stretch to come away with a 62-54 win, spoiling UNW's hopes of stealing a quality road win.
Falk led the Eagles in scoring with 10 points and added two assists. Landvik, the smallest player on the floor for most of the night, scored eight points and led UNW with eight rebounds, in addition to dishing out a pair of assists and grabbing six steals. Christenson and Hagen tallied eight points apiece as well, with the latter adding two blocks and two assists and the former, two steals. Sondrol and Sellers each collected four rebounds.
The road doesn't get much easier for the Lady Eagles, as a date at No. 7 Gustavus Adolphus awaits them on Saturday. Tip-off in St. Peter is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
