SUPERIOR, Wis. – With 10 minutes remaining in Wednesday night's game at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, it appeared as if the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team would be resigned to battling for the second seed in the UMAC Tournament and UW-Superior would coast to a regular season conference title, as UWS held a 56-41 advantage. That all changed when Northwestern opened the fourth quarter with a 15-1 surge and ultimately forced overtime, where the Eagles (13-7, 7-2 UMAC) would go on to win, 76-69, stunning the Yellowjacket faithful in attendance. The win was eerily similar to the teams' first matchup in St. Paul, but the inverse. That night, the Jackets out-scored UNW 31-19 in the final period to storm back and win by six. It also perhaps changed the outlook of the Eagles' season going forward, as they are now tied with Superior atop the UMAC standings after splitting the season series.
Anytime
Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown) makes her first shot, good things seem to happen for the sophomore forward. Such was the case on Wednesday, when she drained an early three-pointer to give Northwestern a 3-2 lead. Her frontcourt-mate,
Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River), made back-to-back threes to give UNW a 9-7 advantage, but that was the last lead the Eagles would hold until overtime. A
Reese Sellers (Yuma, Ariz./Yuma Catholic) and-one evened the score at 12, and layups by
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) and
Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) were able to keep Northwestern within a bucket at the end of the first period, which ended with an 18-16 score.
The scoring was a little sparser for UNW in the second quarter as UW-Superior was able to extend its lead. A driving layup by
Taylor Christenson (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) made it 21-18, but the Jackets were quickly able to go up by nine. Sondrol knocked down her third triple of the first half to trim the deficit to six, but with three minutes left, UWS was able to push its lead to double digits at 32-21. A three by Christenson and a step-back jumper by Falk allowed Northwestern to get back within single digits at 34-26 entering the halftime intermission.
Things didn't get much better for
Aaron Kahl's squad in the third quarter. UNW scored its first points of the half on a Christenson three nearly three minutes into the period, and back-to-back baskets by the Yellowjackets put them ahead, 42-29. Sondrol carried the team offensively for the remainder of the quarter, scoring nine of her team's final 12 points to close it out. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the deficit had grown to 15 (56-41) with only 10 more minutes of game left.
One could assume that whatever Coach Kahl said in the huddle before the final period commenced would make Herb Brooks and Eric Taylor blush. Seemingly recognizing what was at stake, Northwestern came out with its hair on fire in the fourth. Falk scored seven-straight points to begin the quarter, and after two Landvik free throws and a Christenson layup, it was suddenly just a four-point game with 6:12 left. Superior finally got on the board with a free throw, but UNW was not deterred, as two free throws from Falk and a Landvik layup made it a 15-1 run and shrunk UWS's lead to just one at 57-56.
A three-pointer gave the Jackets some breathing room, but Hagen knocked down a pair of free throws on the other end to make it a two-point game. UW-Superior got the lead back to four with 2:10 left, but the Eagles closed strong. Landvik made a reverse layup with 1:50 on the clock to pull within two once again, then the Northwestern defense locked in, forcing a shot clock violation. After a UNW missed shot, Sellers made perhaps the most unsung play of the night, forcing a jump ball that gave the Eagles the ball back with 36 seconds to play. Coach Kahl drew up a post isolation play for Hagen, who converted with her off-hand to tie the game at 62. Northwestern held strong on the defensive end again, forcing two misses in the final seconds to force overtime.
UNW had played one overtime game this season prior to Wednesday night. It was on the road at Martin Luther, done in similarly-furious fashion, and it was clear that all of the Eagles' energy was spent tying the game, with nothing left for the bonus five minutes. History did not repeat itself in Superior, as this time, Northwestern rode the momentum of the comeback and kept its foot on the gas in overtime. After the teams traded turnovers, Falk buried a corner three. The ensuing possession, Sondrol snagged an offensive rebound and eventually made a left-handed layup to put UNW up, 67-62. The Yellowjackets got a pair of free throws on the other end, but Falk wasted no time providing the dagger, swishing a three-pointer with 1:57 left to go up by six. Hagen scored on a cut to the hoop on Northwestern's next trip and fans began to grab their coats. Hagen and Christenson both went 2-2 at the stripe in the final minutes as the Eagles closed out an improbable, 76-69 win in one of the UMAC's tougher gyms to play in. They are now tied with UW-Superior at the top of the UMAC standings, with three teams sitting just one game back at 6-3.
It was the forwards who did the heaviest lifting for UNW on Wednesday, as Falk (7-9 FG, 4-5 3FG) and Sondrol (8-12 FG, 4-5 3FG) each scored 20 points. Falk added six rebounds, four steals and two assists, while Sondrol tallied five boards and two assists. Christenson, who has transformed herself into a three-point weapon, contributed 14 points, while Hagen logged 11 points and seven rebounds. Landvik did a little bit of everything, finishing with eight points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Sellers had two steals, including the game-changing jump ball late in the fourth quarter. Northwestern forced 18 turnovers and shot 41.7% from three as a team.
The Eagles will put their four-game winning streak on the line Saturday when they host Minnesota Morris in the annual Hoops Hysteria game. Tip-off at the Ericksen Center is scheduled for 2:45 PM, after the conclusion of the men's game. If you can't make it in person, you can catch all the action on the Eagle Sports Network, an affiliate of the UMAC Sports Network.
