ST. PAUL, Minn. – For the 15
th time in program history and the fourth time in five years, the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team is a UMAC regular season champion. UNW's 73-57 win over Crown College on Saturday clinched at least a share of the crown (no pun intended), pending the result of the ongoing UW-Superior vs. Minnesota Morris contest. Superior's two-point win meant the Yellowjackets and Eagles would share the title, with UWS earning the top seed in next week's UMAC Tournament by edging out Northwestern in the fifth tiebreaker (conference road record). Alas, there was plenty to celebrate in the Ericksen Center on Saturday: a conference championship, Senior Day for six members of the team, and a reunion with former Associate Head Coach David Pederson, who now leads the Polars.
Senior
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) got the party going early in her final regular season game at home, making a pair of jump shots to give UNW an early 4-0 edge. An and-one from senior
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) and a three-pointer from senior
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) pushed the lead to 10-2, but Crown fought back to score the next five points. Senior
Taylor Christenson (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) converted a three-point play of her own to end the run, and
Ryann Eddy (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) followed that up with a trey on the ensuing trip to make it 16-7, Eagles. The Polars made a three of their own with 2:25 left in the first quarter, but a layup by
Reese Sellers (Yuma, Ariz./Yuma Catholic) and threes from
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) and Landvik gave Northwestern a 14-3 run to close out the quarter and lead 24-10.
After a Crown three-pointer to open the second period, Sondrol countered right back with a layup, assisted by Landvik. After over two minutes of no field goals between the two teams, Christenson and Sondrol ended the drought with back-to-back triples to extend the Eagles' lead to 32-14. UNW got points on its next two possessions as well, courtesy of a three from senior
Lexi Garcia (Colorado Springs, Colo./Vanguard) and two Christenson free throws. A Christenson layup and a fade-away jumper by Falk to beat the shot clock buzzer gave Northwestern its largest lead of the half at 41-17, but the Polars scored the final three points before halftime to make it 41-20 with 20 minutes to play.
To its credit, Crown was not only able to go blow-for-blow with the Eagles the rest of the way, but actually out-scored them in the second half. Each team scored on its opening two possessions of the third quarter, with UNW getting buckets from Hagen and Landvik. A Christenson layup and a Garcia three-pointer on consecutive possessions made the score 50-27, then an and-one from Falk got the lead back to 24. Landvik drained a top-of-the-key three with 1:50 left in the third to give Northwestern the largest lead it would own all night at 60-34, but the Polars once again closed a quarter strong, scoring five points in the final 1:32 to make it 60-39 in favor of the Eagles at the end of the third.
Falk and Garcia made threes over two minutes apart for UNW's first two baskets of the final period, then a Christenson layup got the lead back to 26 at 68-42. Crown responded with a 9-2 run with only a Landvik layup as resistance to pull within 19 with 3:58 left, but a Hagen three-pointer shortly thereafter put the final nail in the coffin. The Polars made threes on their final two possessions of the game to make the final score 73-56 in Northwestern's favor, giving the Eagles an overall record of 17-8 and a UMAC record of 11-3 to close out the regular season.
Christenson, who actually participated in her second Senior Day after being a surprise returnee to the 2024-25 squad, finished with a game-high 14 points and dished out three assists. Landvik contributed in every way imaginable, racking up 13 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals—her second double-double of both the season and her career. Falk also scored 13 points, adding seven rebounds and two steals. Hagen and Garcia each scored nine points, while Sondrol tallied eight and snagged seven boards. Sellers doled out five assists off the bench.
The Eagles have earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming UMAC Tournament and will host No. 3 Bethany Lutheran on Wednesday, February 26
th in the Ericksen Center. The two teams split the regular season series, with each team defending its home court. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
