ST. PAUL, Minn. – A dominant third quarter, some dynamite late-game free throw shooting and a double-double from senior
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) were the key factors in a 68-61 win for the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team over Bethany Lutheran College on UMAC opening night. Despite coming in with a 1-10 record, Bethany Lutheran gave the 6-5 Eagles all they could handle from the very beginning, but Northwestern was able to survive the scare to open conference play 1-0.
The Vikings jumped all over UNW early, scoring the first four points of the game and throwing multiple defensive looks at
Aaron Kahl's squad. Five
Taylor Christenson (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) points and layups from
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) and
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) highlighted a 9-0 run that put the Eagles up five and seemingly in control, but BLC refused to go away. The visitors continued to shoot well and took a 15-13 lead despite baskets from Sondrol and Hagen. Sondrol and
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) teamed up to score five straight, making it 18-15 in favor of Northwestern, and a Hagen jumper kept the lead at three with 55 seconds left. Bethany Lutheran closed out the first quarter strong; however, scoring the final five points to take a 22-20 lead.
After a high-octane first period, the second featured considerably fewer fireworks, as neither team was able to score double-digit points. BLC truck first with a pair of free throws, but Hagen immediately answered with a layup to pull back within two. The teams then went on a nearly three-minute drought before Christenson was able to convert conventional three-point play to take a 25-24 lead with 5:32 left in the half. The Eagles were able to get two more free throws on the board before the conclusion of the quarter, but the Vikings were able to make three more field goals, giving them a 31-27 advantage entering the break.
The lead grew to eight as Bethany scored two more baskets in the opening 1:36 of the third quarter. Northwestern was able to lock in after that, scoring the next six points (two each from Hagen, Landvik and Falk) to trim the deficit to two. The two squads who had struggled to score since the end of the first period suddenly began trading blows like prizefighters; BLC made a jump shot, Sondrol made a three-pointer and the Vikings answered back with one of their own to go up 40-36. From that point on, it was an avalanche of third-quarter momentum in UNW's favor. Christenson converted another and-one before
Reese Sellers (Yuma, Ariz./Yuma Catholic) made a layup to put her team up by three. Hagen then made three consecutive shots from inside the arc before Landvik capped off the 11-0 surge with a pair of free throws to make it 49-40, Eagles. Landvik made one more free throw in the quarter and Sellers a layup as Northwestern found itself with a 52-44 lead entering the final stanza.
Sondrol opened up the fourth with a layup to give UNW its first double-digit lead of the night. A Vikings three got them within seven, which was followed by a Hagen finish inside. Bethany Lutheran continued to heat up, scoring five straight to suddenly pull within four with 4:27 left. Hagen stepped up and buried a massive three-pointer to give the Eagles some breathing room with 3:24 left, but BLC answered right back with back-to-back treys, making it a one-point game. That was the closest the Vikings would get, as Hagen, Sondrol and Falk all made multiple crucial free throws in the final minutes to cement a 68-61 win in UNW's conference opener and improve to 7-5 on the season.
The game really was won at the free throw line, where Northwestern went 23-27 while Bethany Lutheran went 2-8. Hagen reminded all who witnessed her 23-point, 11-rebound performance why she was the 2022-23 UMAC Player of the Year. Sondrol backed up her All-Conference credentials as well, scoring 15 points, collecting seven rebounds and blocking three shots. Christenson was the other Eagle in double figures, finishing with 11 points, three assists and three steals. Landvik and Falk each scored seven points, with the latter grabbing eight boards as well.
UNW will be back inside the Ericksen Center Saturday for a showdown with North Central, beginning at 4:45 PM. The game can also be watched on the Eagle Sports Network, an affiliate of the UMAC Sports Network.
