ST. PAUL, Minn. – It's not often that you can say that the entire team truly contributed to a win in basketball, but that was the case on Saturday afternoon for the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team. All 13 Eagles that were in uniform scored in a 99-27 drubbing of Maranatha Baptist University inside the Ericksen Center. The win put Northwestern over .500 for the year at 3-2, while Maranatha dropped to 0-8.
After a free throw by
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) got the Eagles on the board,
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) scored seven straight to push UNW's lead to 8-0. The senior added another bucket while
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) hit two three-pointers and
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) one, making it 21-4 in favor of the home team.
Reese Sellers (Yuma, Ariz./Yuma Catholic) score the next eight Northwestern points as the lead grew to 18, then four consecutive Falk points and one more Sondrol layup closed out the first quarter with UNW on top, 34-12.
The 12 points the Sabercats scored in the opening period would prove to be their best. After Hagen and Landvik scored in the opening minute of the second quarter, MBU converted a jump shot that would end up being its only points of the frame. Sondrol would add five more points to clinch the "Chick-Fil-18" promotion before halftime, and Hagen would match her classmate with five of her own. Sellers would tack on eight in the quarter and
Ryann Eddy (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) five, in addition to
Brenna Vogel (New Prague, Minn./Homeschool) scoring her first career points. The Eagles closed the half on a 27-0 run to take a 65-14 lead into the intermission.
Northwestern's starters would only end up playing a few minutes in the third quarter before taking a seat for the rest of the day, but they made those minutes count. Hagen scored four points, Landvik contributed two, and
Taylor Christenson (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) knocked down a three-pointer before giving way to UNW's reserves. They took the torch and ran with it, closing the quarter on a 15-0 run to extend the lead to 89-20.
Makenzie Anderstrom (Hudson, Wis./New Life Academy) and
Reese Schmidt (Watertown, S.D./Florence) (who scored five points in the quarter) each scored their first collegiate points, while Sellers and Vogel continued their strong plays with three-pointers as part of the closing stretch.
The theme of "first career points" would continue into the fourth period, as
Stella Multerer (Anoka, Minn./St. Francis Christian) (four points),
Emily Ashton (Camas, Wash./St. Mary's Academy) and
Caroline West (Lakeville, Minn./Homeschool) (four points) all joined in on the fun. With those three on the board, every Eagle in uniform scored in the game, which ended in a 99-27 win.
Sondrol was a force from the opening tip, finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Sellers also scored 18 on an efficient 7-9 shooting, adding six steals and three assists. Hagen finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four steals, while Landvik notched nine points, five assists and five steals. Christenson dished out four assists and Eddy grabbed six boards as well. As a team, the Eagles shot 50% from the field and 40.7% from three, and out-scored Maranatha 50-2 in the paint while forcing 38 turnovers.
Northwestern will be back in action on Wednesday, December 11
th for a road matchup with UW-Eau Claire. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
