NEWTON, Mass. – After a nearly two-week gap since its last contest, the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team was back in action Monday to kick off a three-game week in Massachusetts. The week's opening tilt pitted the Eagles against Lasell University, who entered Monday with an impressive 9-1 record. The 13-day layoff may have been just what the doctor ordered for UNW, who only trailed for 2:48 and improved to 3-7 on the season with a convincing, 75-62 win.
The Lasers took an early 4-0 lead before Northwestern put up seven-in-a-row to take a lead it would not relinquish.
Brenna Vogel (New Prague, Minn./South Metro) and
Marin Blom (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) knocked down three-pointers to extend the lead to 13-5, and despite Lasell trimming its deficit to four, the Eagles used jumpers from
Ella Frazier (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi) and
Katelyn Lindberg (Clearwater, Minn./Monticello) to take a 17-11 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter.
A hot start for the Lasers in the second quarter made it a one-point game, but UNW rattled off nine-straight, including four from
Emma Korinek (New Brighton, Minn./Concordia Academy) and layups from
Lydia Schmitter (Eagan, Minn./United Christian Academy) and
Karley Loven (Swanville, Minn./Swanville), to take its first double-digit lead of the day at 26-16. Schmitter then drilled a three to extend the lead to 11, and another from
Olivia Heikes (Braham, Minn./Braham Area) made it 34-20 with 3:47 left in the half. A Schmitter layup and another triple from Blom, which beat the buzzer, capped off a 22-6 run to close out the period and give Northwestern a 39-22 advantage at the intermission.
Lasell got on the board first in the third quarter, but the Eagles answered back with a Frazier trey and a
Carli Elrod (Lindstrom, Minn./Spectrum) layup on consecutive possessions to push their lead to 20. Threes from Korinek and Vogel gave UNW the largest lead it would hold all day at 50-28, but were followed by a 7-1 run by the hosts. Blom ended the run with a layup, and Elrod scored three points toward the end of the quarter to put the score at 56-38 with 10 minutes to play.
The Lasers attempted to mount one final comeback, beginning the final period with an 8-0 run to pull within 10, but Northwestern punched back with a 6-0 run from the freshman duo of Frazier and Schmitter. Schmitter wound up scoring eight points in the fourth, while Elrod, Lindberg and Frazier made the necessary free throws down the stretch to finish off Northwestern's most impressive win to date with a 75-62 margin.
Schmitter led the way with 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, her second double-double in as many games. Frazier followed suit with 14 points and three steals, while Blom and Elrod each chipped in 10 points, and the latter a team-high seven boards. Lindberg led the team in assists with five, and Vogel contributed three. The Eagles were out-rebounded 53-37, but shut down the Lasers defensively, holding them to a 29.6/25.9/41.2 split. Additionally, all nine Eagles who played scored.
UNW will look to build off Monday's big win with a Tuesday matchup at UMass Boston. Tip-off is scheduled for 11:00 AM CT (12:00 PM local time).
