ST. PAUL, Minn. – A three-point blitzkrieg by the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team on Monday night closed out day one of the inaugural Twin Cities New Years Classic, hosted by Northwestern. The Eagles made 16 of their 33 attempts from behind the arc and shot 55% from the field en route to a 93-37 clobbering of Nebraska Wesleyan University inside the Ericksen Center. Northwestern received contributions from every player in uniform and had four players score in double figures in the win, which improved its record to 5-5 on the season.
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) was one of the aforementioned double-digit scorers, and got to work right away. The sophomore scored on UNW's first three possessions of the game, including a pair of three-pointers. After
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) found
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) for a transition layup, Falk buried another triple to put the Eagles up, 13-5.
Reese Sellers (Yuma, Ariz./Yuma Catholic) hit a three of her own on the following possession to make it 16-7, making it six straight scoring possessions for Northwestern to open the game. Hagen drilled a trey to extend the lead to double digits at 19-7, then a
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) and-one the following trip down the floor made it 22-10. Sellers made another three-pointer as time expired to make the score 27-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Even after scoring 11 first-quarter points, Falk wasn't finished. She made threes on three consecutive possessions early in the second to give her 20 points for the night and put UNW on top, 36-16. A Hagen jumper and two free throws from Landvik put the exclamation point on a 13-0 run that made the score 40-16 with just over six minutes left in the half. Nebraska Wesleyan made a three to stop that run, but the Eagles followed it up by scoring 11 straight to push their lead to 51-19. Layups by Sondrol, Landvik and Sellers, plus five points from Hagen, contributed to the run as Falk sat out due to foul trouble. The Prairie Wolves added a layup in the final minute to make the score 51-21 in favor of the home team entering halftime.
After shooting 10-20 from deep in the first half, Northwestern showed no signs of slowing down as the second half commenced. Hagen hit two threes in the quarter, and Sondrol and Sellers each one as UNW's lead continued to grow. Sellers and Falk each added one layup each as the third quarter ended with Northwestern holding a 72-29 advantage.
Sondrol scored Northwestern's first five points of the fourth period before
Lexi Garcia (Colorado Springs, Colo./Vanguard) joined the three-point party. As UNW's reserves began to trickle in, the scoring surge continued.
Ryann Eddy (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) made a layup while
Makenzie Anderstrom (Hudson, Wis./New Life Academy) and
Reese Schmidt (Watertown, S.D./Florence) scored four and seven points, respectively, down the stretch. When all was said and done, the Eagles had wrapped up the opening day of the Twin Cities New Years Classic with a dominant, 93-37 win.
Falk finished with 22 points and five rebounds on 8-12 shooting and 6-8 from deep. Hagen made seven of her 12 shot attempts, scoring 18 points and snagging a game-high four steals, to go along with four rebounds. Sondrol scored 15 points and finished with game-highs in rebounds (7) and blocks (3), while Sellers scored 13 points and dished out five assists.
Taylor Christenson (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) and Landvik each tallied five assists as well, with the latter adding seven points. Schmidt also scored seven points in just five minutes, making all three of her field goal attempts. Although the offensive explosion is the A-topic, it should be noted that UNW held NWU to single digits in each of the final three quarters.
Northwestern will play in the fourth and final game of the Twin Cities New Years Classic Tuesday at 3:00 PM against Augsburg University, following the conclusion of the Crown-Nebraska Wesleyan game. All tournament games can also be streamed on the Eagle Sports Network, an affiliate of the UMAC Sports Network.
