BOSTON – Don't look now, but the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team is finding its rhythm as 2025 comes to a close. On the second leg of a three-game week in Massachusetts, the Eagles used an efficient shooting performance and a rebounding advantage to claim a 72-64 win at 5-3 University of Massachusetts Boston to improve to 4-7 on the season. The win is UNW's second in as many days, and its fourth in five games.
UMass Boston jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the opening seven minutes, but Northwestern found its footing and trimmed the deficit to five after consecutive three-pointers from
Olivia Heikes (Braham, Minn./Braham Area) and
Brenna Vogel (New Prague, Minn./South Metro) off the bench. However, a buzzer-beating three gave the Beacons an 18-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
UMB's lead grew to double digits after a layup to open the second-period scoring, but
Ella Frazier (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi) answered right back with a three-pointer. A 7-0 Eagle run from its trio of upperclassmen (
Marin Blom (Farmington, Minn./Farmington),
Katelyn Lindberg (Clearwater, Minn./Monticello) and
Carli Elrod (Lindstrom, Minn./Spectrum)) made it a two-point game at 22-20, then a
Lydia Schmitter (Eagan, Minn./United Christian Academy) layup and a
Karley Loven (Swanville, Minn./Swanville) three brought UNW within one. Schmitter tied the game at 28 with an and-one with 3:39 left before halftime, but the Beacons scored the next five. Northwestern, however, closed the half strong, getting layups from Schmitter, Vogel and
Emma Korinek (New Brighton, Minn./Concordia Academy) to take a 34-33 lead into the break, its first lead of the day. The Eagles out-scored UMB 24-15 in the quarter.
The back-and-forth battle continued into the third quarter, with Schmitter and Frazier staying hot from the field. A 7-0 UNW run gave the visitors a 44-37 edge, and the Eagles were able to answer every threat from UMass Boston with the likes of Heikes, Loven and Vogel all contributing. At the conclusion of the period, Northwestern still held the lead by a 51-47 margin.
Frazier knocked down another triple early in the fourth, and a Lindberg jumper extended the lead to 57-50. The hosts pulled within three after a 4-0 spurt, but UNW got back-to-back buckets from Elrod and Frazier to push the lead back to seven with 5:39 to go. With three minutes left, the Eagles turned on the burners for one final scoring push to put the game on ice, getting four baskets in as many possessions Blom, Schmitter and Korinek to take a 70-60 lead. After a couple of Korinek free throws and a last-second shot by UMB, Northwestern emerged with a 72-64 victory.
After a significant loss on the boards Monday, UNW won the rebounding battle, 36-27, on Tuesday. The Eagles also shot 50.9% from the field and made eight threes, compared to 42.4% and three triples for UMass Boston. Schmitter was once again the scoring leader with 15 points, adding seven rebounds and three assists. Frazier was an efficient 5-7 shooting and 4-6 from deep on her way to a 14-point, four-steal performance, and Loven finished with eight points in just 13 minutes off the bench. Blom dished out six assists and pulled down five boards, while Elrod and Vogel each chipped in seven points. All nine Eagles who saw action made at least two field goals.
Northwestern will have the next two days off in Boston before taking on Regis College in its first game of 2026 on Friday, January 2
nd. Tip-off in Weston, Massachusetts is scheduled for 12:00 PM CT (1:00 PM local time).
