ST. PAUL, Minn. – With a two-game winning streak in hand, the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team faced perhaps the toughest test it will all season on Tuesday night as it welcomed Gustavus Adolphus College to the Ericksen Center, who made an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight last season. The Gusties showed from the jump they still have some championship pedigree, leading from start-to-finish in an 85-41 win.
Freshman
Lydia Schmitter (Eagan, Minn./United Christian Academy), who recorded her first-career double-double in Saturday's win over Emmaus, scored six of UNW's eight first-quarter points, with fellow rookie
Emma Korinek (New Brighton, Minn./Concordia Academy) adding the other two as the Eagles found themselves in a 25-8 hole. Northwestern scored just seven points in the second period, all coming from Schmitter and Korinek again, and trailed 52-15 at the half.
The scoring picked up for UNW in the third quarter, as
Ella Frazier (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi) opened the half with a three-pointer and
Carli Elrod (Lindstrom, Minn./Spectrum) scored the next eight for the Eagles to close out the quarter. With a much tighter, 17-11 margin in the period, Gustavus extended its lead to 69-36 with 10 minutes to play. Northwestern scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter, beginning with a Korinek three, followed by six-straight from Schmitter. After a pair of free throws from Schmitter,
Aubrey Langrehr (Rockland, Wis./Bangor) and
Marin Blom (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) each scored from inside the arc, then the Gusties finished the game on an 11-0 run to nip the Eagles in the fourth quarter, 16-15, and finish off the 85-41 road win.
Schmitter finished the night 6-11 for 16 points and added five steals. Korinek scored 10 points on 4-6 shooting with three rebounds and three steals, while Elrod tallied eight points, three boards and three steals. Blom dished out a game-high two assists, and Frazier contributed two. Gustavus Adolphus shot a blistering 58.2% from the field and 46.7% from three-point range, and out-rebounded UNW 37-15 in the contest, although the Eagles did force 21 turnovers.
Northwestern will take a break for Christmas before embarking on a three-game road trip to Massachusetts, beginning on December 29
th.
