ST. PAUL, Minn. – They're not always the prettiest, but wins are wins. Such was the case for the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team on the second and final day of the Twin Cities New Years Classic, hosted by UNW. After a clunky opening half, Northwestern was able to overpower Augsburg University and win, 61-46, to close out non-conference play with a 6-5 record.
It took a while for UNW's engine to rev up, as the Eagles' first points came with 4:44 left in the opening quarter on a three-pointer from
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River), who was named the December 16-22 UMAC Player of the Week on Tuesday morning. Two
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) free throws and a three from
Reese Sellers (Yuma, Ariz./Yuma Catholic) gave Northwestern its first lead at 8-7, and a
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) layup in the final minute made it 10-7 at the end of the period, which UNW closed on a 7-0 run.
The run continued into the second quarter and reached 14-0 thanks to threes from Falk and
Lexi Garcia (Colorado Springs, Colo./Vanguard). An Auggie layup ended its scoring drought, but a Landvik layup and a triple from
Taylor Christenson (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) gave the Eagles a 22-11 advantage. It appeared Northwestern had righted the ship and was on its way to its second blowout win of the tournament, but Augsburg fought back valiantly. UNW was only able to muster two free throws in the final 6:55 of the half, as the Auggies closed it on a 14-2 run to take a 25-24 lead into the break and leave the Eagles stunned.
Sondrol buried a trey on the opening possession of the third quarter to put Northwestern back in front, but Augsburg took the lead right back. That was the last lead the visitors would hold in the game, as a 13-0 surge put UNW ahead, 40-30. Five different Eagles scored in the run, including three points each from Sondrol, Sellers and
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan). A three-point play in the final minute for Augsburg made the score 40-33 in favor of Northwestern at the conclusion of the third quarter.
The Eagles continued to battle as the final period began.
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) scored UNW's first three points of the quarter, then Falk contributed the next four to make it 47-37. Northwestern rattled off an 8-0 run which included an old school three-point play from Christenson and a new school three from Falk, putting the Eagles up by 16. Hagen made three free throws and Sellers one more three-pointer in the final minutes to seal a 61-46 win and finish the tournament 2-0.
Falk paced the Eagles for the second day in a row with 14 points, adding five rebounds and three assists. Sellers tallied 12 points and two steals, while Hagen finished with nine points, nine rebounds and two steals. Sondrol also scored nine points, adding five boards, four assists and two blocks. Landvik had seven points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals, while Christenson logged seven points and four steals.
Northwestern will begin its conference season Wednesday, January 8
th in the Ericksen Center against Bethany Lutheran. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 PM, after the conclusion of the men's game.
