POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - The University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team wrapped up their 2024-2025 campaign with a win in the fifth place match of National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament on Friday evening. Taking on the Highlanders from Houghton University, UNW took home the 76-52 win to finish 2-1 over the weekend and 20-10 on the season.
Grace Landvik (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) opened the scoring with two free throws, as both teams went back and forth for the first two minutes. After a Houghton jumper that brought the score to 5-4, the Eagles did all the scoring until the final minute of the quarter. In that span, Northwestern only scored in the paint. Lexi Hagen (Jordan, Minn./Jordan), Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River), Grace Landvik, and Reese Sellers (Yuma, Ariz./Yuma Catholic) all scored, followed by two more free throws by Lexi Garcia (Colorado Springs, Colo./Vanguard). The Highlanders scored once more before the end of the quarter.
With the 16-7 lead, UNW continued to crank up the defense, allowing HU just 12 points in the second quarter. Northwestern also produced efficiently on offense, scoring another 16 points. After a strong paint performance in the opening quarter, the Eagles showed their versatility by scoring nine points off of three pointers by Taylor Christenson (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy), Hagen, and Ella Falk (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown). As the buzzer went off, Allison Terry (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) laid the ball in to complete the first half with a score of 32-19.
Northwestern came out of the break and shot and impressive 66% from the field in the third quarter. It was the senior show as five of the seniors accounted for every point of the quarter. Landvik led the charge with seven points, Christenson tallied six points, Sondrol and Hagen both added four points, and Garcia scored once.
With one quarter remaining and the 22 point lead, the Eagles were able to enjoy their last ten minutes of the season. Terry nailed a corner three to fire up Northwestern's bench. Ryann Eddy (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) also hit a three, followed by a steal and layup by Sellers. With eight minutes left, all five veterans subbed in to play together for the last time. Their experience and familiarity with one another shone as they created offense for each other to dot the exclamation point of their successful careers. In an emotional end, the seniors all subbed out with a few minutes remaining and made their way through the bench with hugs and tears. The final bucket of the game was a dagger shot by freshman Caroline West (Lakeville, Minn./Homeschool) from the corner as the shot clock expired.
Once again, Hagen led UNW in the scoring category with 16 points. Christenson and Landvik closely followed with 13 apiece, while Sondrol added 10. Both Hagen and Landvik shot 50% from the field, while Sondrol shot 55% overall and Christenson led with 62% shooting. One rebound shy of a double-double, Landvik grabbed nine rebounds, which led both teams in that category.
The legacy of this senior class will be remembered for their 76-27 overall record, two NCCAA Tournament appearances, one NCAA Tournament, one Conference Tournament Championship, and three times as the Regular Season Champions.
