ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team was back in the Ericksen Center for the first time in nearly a month on Wednesday night, having last played at home on December 16
th. The Eagles were hopeful that the home court advantage would help propel them to their first conference win of the season as they welcomed Martin Luther College. But UNW, playing without leading scorer Lyrdia Schmitter, fell behind big in the first quarter and was never able to recover, ultimately falling 71-47 to fall to 5-10 on the season and 0-3 in the UMAC. The Knights improved to 2-1 in conference and 9-7 overall behind a 14-point, 20-rebound effort from sophomore guard Wilhelmina Wenz.
As previously stated, the first quarter was a nightmare for Northwestern. MLC raced out to a 13-3 lead with only a
Marin Blom (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) three-pointer getting in its way.
Ella Frazier (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi) scored the final four points of the period for the Eagles, as Martin Luther held a 21-7 advantage heading into the second.
UNW began to settle in early in the second quarter, getting within 11 after a three from
Emma Korinek (New Brighton, Minn./Concordia Academy) and a layup from
Carli Elrod (Lindstrom, Minn./Spectrum).
Olivia Heikes (Braham, Minn./Braham Area) knocked down a trey to stay within 12 just over the halfway point, but the Knights scored the next seven and took a 37-20 lead into the intermission.
Northwestern struck first in the third quarter as well, getting a three-pointer from Elrod in the opening minute; but a 14-1 run for the visitors made it a 27-point margin before
Aubrey Langrehr (Rockland, Wis./Bangor) sunk a couple of free throws. Korinek then drained back-to-back threes and
Karley Loven (Swanville, Minn./Swanville) converted a jumper to give the Eagles some momentum heading into the final period, despite trailing 58-34.
Fighting until the finish, UNW was able to tie the fourth quarter, 13-13. Langrehr added five more points and
Katelyn Lindberg (Clearwater, Minn./Monticello) scored four in the period, with Korinek and Loven each adding buckets as well. The final score read 71-47 in favor of MLC, who had five players in double figures.
The lone Eagle in double figures was Korinek, who scored 11 points in her return to the lineup, replacing the injured Schmitter. Langrehr added seven off the bench, and Lindberg chipped in five steals and three assists. Blom and
Brenna Vogel (New Prague, Minn./South Metro) each had three assists as well, adding seven and four rebounds, respectively. Loven also pulled down four boards. As a team, UNW shot just 25.4% from the field and 26.7% from three, and was out-rebounded 49-25. The Eagles did win the turnover battle by a 24-18 margin, and bench scoring 16-8.
Northwestern will be back in the Ericksen Center on Saturday, January 17
th to take on Minnesota Morris. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
