WESTON, Mass. – The University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team is playing its best ball of the season heading into conference play. UNW made it three up and three down in the northeast this week after defeating Regis College by a 69-57 score in a Friday matinee. The Eagles used a big first quarter to separate themselves and improve to 5-7 and head into UMAC play on a three-game winning streak. The win was also the 300
th of Head Coach
Aaron Kahl's career and his 262
nd at Northwestern (38 at Dakota Wesleyan University).
After Regis scored on its opening possession, Northwestern scored the next seven points, taking a lead it would not relinquish. Five different Eagles combined to score their first 11 points, and the first to score for a second time was
Karley Loven (Swanville, Minn./Swanville), whose three-pointer made it 14-6 in favor of the visitors. A
Marin Blom (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) three gave UNW its first double-digit lead of the day at 18-6, and another triple from
Brenna Vogel (New Prague, Minn./South Metro) in the final minute of the period made it 23-8 at the end of one.
After shooting 53.8% from the field and 50% from deep in the first quarter, the Eagles continued their stellar shooting early in the second. A Blom trey and an
Ella Frazier (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi) layup extended the lead to 28-12, but a 6-0 run for the Pride made it a 10-point game before back-to-back layups from
Carli Elrod (Lindstrom, Minn./Spectrum) and Blom. Regis briefly got within single digits, but
Lydia Schmitter (Eagan, Minn./United Christian Academy) started a 6-0 Northwestern run with a layup and Vogel finished it with a three-pointer. Heading into the half, UNW held a 40-24 advantage.
The Pride were able to chip away at the Eagles' lead with a 13-4 run to pull within seven at the halfway point of the third period, but a Vogel three-pointer and a traditional three-point play from Blom on consecutive possessions gave Northwestern some breathing room at 50-37. A Loven three made it a 16-point game and a 9-0 surge, and the quarter ended with UNW on top, 57-43.
Layups from Blom and
Katelyn Lindberg (Clearwater, Minn./Monticello) put the Eagles ahead 61-47 with 7:05 left in the game, and it appeared the visitors were cruising to a New England sweep. But Regis did not go away quietly, putting together a quick, 6-0 run to get within eight. Elrod knifed through the Pride's defense to push the lead back to 10, then a nifty spin move but Blom made it a 12-point game with 2:35 remaining, all but sealing the victory. After one more bucket each from Blom and Schmitter, Northwestern did, in fact, achieve the east coast sweep with a 69-57 win at Higgins Court.
Blom had her best game as an Eagle, scoring a career-high 17 points, and adding seven rebounds and three steals. Loven and Schmitter each scored 12 points, with the latter stuffing the stat sheet with 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Vogel tallied nine points and five boards, while Elrod chipped in eight and four. Frazier pulled down six rebounds, and Lindberg dished out three assists. UNW out-rebounded Regis 40-29 in the contest, and held the Pride to 33.9% shooting and 23.5% from behind the arc.
Northwestern, who has won its last three games and five of its last six, will fly home to Minnesota and gear up for UMAC play, which begins Wednesday, January 7
th at Bethany Lutheran. Tip-off in Mankato is slated for 5:30 PM and will be available on the UMAC Sports Network.
