ST. PAUL, Minn. – Much like many vehicles in the state of Minnesota, it took the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team a little while to rev up its engine on Saturday. The Eagles got off to a slow start against North Central University and trailed 14-13 after one quarter. They were able to find their groove in the second quarter; however, and wound up rolling to a 73-49 home win to improve to 8-5 on the season and 2-0 in the UMAC.
Despite jumping out to a 7-2 lead thanks to an
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) layup, two
Taylor Christenson (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) free throws and a
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) three-pointer, UNW found itself trailing just moments later. A
Lexi Garcia (Colorado Springs, Colo./Vanguard) three briefly gave Northwestern the lead, which was promptly snatched back by North Central. Falk made a three of her own with 2:23 left in the quarter to make it 13-11, Eagles, but NCU scored the final three points of the period to hold a 14-13 advantage through the opening 10 minutes.
Northwestern wasted no time heating up in the second quarter, as
Reese Sellers (Yuma, Ariz./Yuma Catholic) and Sondrol nailed back-to-back three-pointers on the first two possessions to take a 19-14 lead. NCU was able to get on the board seconds later, but UNW continued to make it rain from deep, this time courtesy of
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan). With the Eagles ahead, 24-20, Sondrol scored on consecutive trips and Hagen scored on the next one after Christenson found her running a go route down the court. Northwestern had one more run in the tank before the half, as Hagen delivered a perfect bounce pass to Garcia for a layup, Falk dropped a backdoor dime to Christenson for two, Hagen drilled as long of a two-point shot as you can shoot and Falk hit a mid-range jumper. When all was said and done, UNW took a 39-24 lead into the half.
The 9-3 run to close the first half grew to 14-3 after a Falk jumper was followed by a Sondrol trey to open the third quarter. North Central scored the next four points before
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) knocked down a three-pointer. A Christenson layup extended Northwestern's lead to 51-34, but the Rams were quickly able to pull within 13. That was as close as they would get for the rest of the game, though, as a Landvik layup and threes from Northwestern's Lexis—Garcia and Hagen—provided an 8-0 run to finish the quarter and make it 59-38.
The scoring didn't let up as the final period began; Falk scored the first points of the quarter, which were followed by five from Hagen, to put UNW up by 24. A Sondrol and-one and two Hagen free throws gave the Eagles their largest lead of the night at 71-44 before both sides began to empty their benches.
Reese Schmidt (Watertown, S.D./Florence) scored Northwestern's final two points in a 73-49 victory.
Hagen picked up her third double-double of the season and her second in a row with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Sondrol added 16 points, three blocks and two steals, while Falk contributed 13 points, four boards and four assists. Garcia was great on both ends, scoring eight points in addition to five steals and four rebounds. Landvik logged four rebounds as well, while Christenson and Sellers (whose birthday was on Saturday), dished out four and three assists, respectively. UNW made 11 three-pointers in the game and turned the Rams over 13 times, which led to 25 points.
The Eagles will take to the road for the first time in the conference season Wednesday, January 15
th, when they square off with Martin Luther. Tip-off in New Ulm is slated for 7:15 PM, after the conclusion of the men's game, and can be watched on the UMAC Sports Network.
