ST. PAUL, Minn. – Back in December, the University of Northwestern and Bethany Lutheran College Women's Basketball teams battled to a 69-68 final score, with the home Vikings emerging victorious. The two teams once again did not disappoint, delighting the packed Ericksen Center crowd with an avalanche of points. This time, the Eagles were able to come out in front, earning a 94-80 win which bolstered their position in the UMAC standings with three games to go.
Bethany Lutheran jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) got the Eagles on the board with a post move. Shortly after, UNW scored twice in three seconds;
Taylor Schuck (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) finished a fast-break layup, then
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) stole the ensuing inbound pass and laid it in to give Northwestern its first lead of the night. The Vikings stole the momentum back, however, ripping off an 11-2 run before
Rylie Hirschey (Pine River, Minn./Pine River Backus) drilled a three-pointer to calm the storm and cut the lead to 15-11.
BLC once again powered on, scoring the next seven points of the contest. This time, it was Northwestern's turn to make a run, as the Eagles scored the final six points of the quarter. The burst began with Hirschey scoring on a backdoor pass from
River Landers (Grand Meadow, Minn./Grand Meadow).
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) then hit a three, and
Allison Terry (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) provided the exclamation point, converting an and-one with under a minute left that blew the roof off of the Ericksen Center and made it 22-20 in favor of Bethany Lutheran after 10 minutes.
Northwestern opened the second quarter with a three from Sondrol to regain the lead and stretch the lead to 9-0. The Vikings were able to punch back, but that would be the final lead they would hold in the game. Landvik swiped the ball away on BLC's next possession and found Schuck for three to put UNW ahead, 26-24. The Eagles caught fire in the second frame, taking advantage of Bethany's aggressive defense to free up cutters and shooters. Sondrol buried a fade-away shot and made two free throws on the next possession as she continued to assert her dominance.
Livvy Grosz (New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony) broke free for a layup to give UNW its largest lead at 35-29, then
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) began to heat up with four straight UNW points. Northwestern also got a layup from Hirschey and back-to-back threes from Falk and Sondrol, both assisted by Terry, to cap off a 14-7 run and put the Eagles in front, 48-39. Terry then picked up another highlight reel assist on a backdoor pass to Hirschey a minute later. In the ultimate heat check, Sondrol drilled a shot from the free throw line with her left hand as time expired to make it 52-43, Northwestern. The Eagles put up 32 points in the second quarter alone, and Sondrol led all scorers with 16 points at the break.
UNW got right back to it in quarter three as Landvik finished inside to make Northwestern's lead 11. The teams then began to trade baskets, which included seven points on three shots from Hagen and buckets by Schuck and Grosz. Another Hirschey three extended UNW's lead to 68-55, then two minutes later,
Andrea Pocernich (Cromwell, Minn./Cromwell-Wright) connected from deep to give the Eagles their largest lead of the game at 71-57. Terry once again found Hirschey back-cutting to end the quarter and give Northwestern a 73-62 edge.
If you thought the teams were about to cool off in the final 10 minutes, guess again. Terry decided to take a break from dropping dimes and made a layup herself to open the period. The Vikings were able to trim the deficit to single digits, but Hagen stepped up and drilled a jumper to make it 77-66. A Schuck and-one once again extended the lead back to double digits, then Landvik dropped a dime of her own to Falk for a layup. A nifty up-and-under from Landvik again pushed the lead from single to double digits, then Hagen slammed the door shut for good with a three-pointer with 4:37 left to put UNW ahead, 87-74. Free throws by Landvik and Sondrol, a three by Grosz and some lockdown defense finished off an electrifying, 94-80 win. UNW improved to 14-8 overall and 7-4 in the UMAC with the victory, which puts them in third place in the conference standings and just one game behind Minnesota Morris for second.
Five Eagles scored in double figures, led by Sondrol's 18, six rebounds and four assists, and Hagen's 16 points and seven boards. Hirschey finished with 14 points, while Landvik chipped in 12 and three assists. Schuck tallied 10 points, while Falk dropped eight and pulled down seven rebounds. Terry finished with a game-high five assists. As a team, Northwestern shot a blistering 55.7% from the field and 40.7% from three. The Eagles also cashed in on 15 of their 18 free throws.
Northwestern will be back at home Saturday for another huge, conference matchup with the Martin Luther Knights. UNW currently holds a one-game lead over MLC for third place in the UMAC. The game will also be part of the annual Hoops Hysteria festivities on campus, so make sure to get to the Ericksen Center early to claim your seat. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 PM.
