MINNEAPOLIS – After dropping its conference-opening loss at Bethany Lutheran College on Wednesday, the University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team looked to get back on track Saturday, taking on a 7-7 North Central University squad who also lost its UMAC opener. After a quiet first quarter for both teams, UNW found itself on the opposing end of an historic shooting performance, as North Central junior NiNi Davenport tied a program record with 11 three-pointers and finished the game with 34 points, second-most in program history. Davenport's performance, in addition to a 57.1% effort from deep as a team, sparked the Rams to a 70-62 win despite Northwestern holding a lead entering the fourth quarter.
Davenport went to work early, knocking down a pair of threes to give NCU a 6-0 lead. The Eagles tied it at six thanks to a
Brenna Vogel (New Prague, Minn./South Metro) three-pointer and free throws from
Carli Elrod (Lindstrom, Minn./Spectrum) and
Lydia Schmitter (Eagan, Minn./United Christian Academy), but both teams went cold until the final two minutes of the period, when North Central went on the third 6-0 run of the frame to lead 12-6 after one.
The Rams stretched their lead to 10 after a couple more threes in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but UNW started to find some success of its own on offense. An 8-0 run featuring inside buckets from
Ella Frazier (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi), Elrod and Schmitter cut the lead to 24-21, but NCU once again was able to answer with three-point success, hitting a pair to extend the lead to nine. Five straight points from
Marin Blom (Farmington, Minn./Farmington), followed by a Frazier floater, trimmed the deficit to three at 33-30, but North Central ended the half on a 5-0 run and pulled down five offensive rebounds on its final scoring possession to take a 38-30 advantage into the half.
Despite the momentum clearly siding with the hosts at the end of the first half, Northwestern came out on fire to start the second. Elrod and Blom combined to score the first four points, then
Katelyn Lindberg (Clearwater, Minn./Monticello), Schmitter and Frazier combined for a 6-0 run to make it a two-point game at 42-40. A Frazier layup and a
Karley Loven (Swanville, Minn./Swanville) floater tied the game, then five more from Loven gave the Eagles their first lead of the day, 51-50, at the end of the quarter.
Unfortunately for UNW, it would also be the last lead they would hold for the day, as Davenport opened the fourth-quarter scoring with three-consecutive treys. To Northwestern's credit, it answered back with nine-straight points, including an Elrod three, to tie it at 59, but the Rams executed a set out of a timeout to get Davenport another open look from deep and regained the lead. Elrod drilled another triple to even the score again at 62, but NCU went to their sharpshooter again, and Davenport delivered with a step-back three to break the tie with 2:02 remaining. The Eagles were not able to score for the rest of the game as North Central closed out a 70-62 win, dropping UNW to 5-9 and 0-2 in the UMAC.
Elrod led Northwestern in scoring with 15 points, adding six rebounds and three steals. Frazier chipped in nine points and five boards, while Blom finished with nine points and four assists. Schmitter nearly put up another double-double, tallying eight points, nine rebounds and four assists, and Loven and Lindberg contributed seven and six rebounds, respectively.
The Eagles will play their first home UMAC game of the season on Wednesday, January 14
th against Martin Luther. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 PM in the Ericksen Center.
